Ghost Supremacy
by Dragoncl
Summary: With his secret revealed, Danny and co. must adjust to the sudden changes. But when a series of abnormal ghost attacks happen, will they be able to beat the new ghosts or will they be sucked into a diabolical plot that could change their lives forever?
1. Home

Hey guys. I finally decided to post this up here. It's really old though, so sorry for any mistakes. Um... not much to say right now except that I hope you enjoy. Tell me if you want me to keep posting the chapters.

Danny Phantom belongs to the magnificent Butch Hartman and I wish Nick hadn't stopped making these. The show was awesome.

* * *

Ch.1 Home

Rain splattered against the windowpane in an futile attempt to penetrate the ornately furnished office of Amity Park's youngest mayor. The fifteen-year old had situated himself down on one of the plush benches near the window and watched the storm continue its barrage on the city. It was definitely a welcome change to the last few days of sweltering heat.

The town hall was the most deserted the mayor had ever seen it since his time in office began two months ago. The teen smiled wryly. Had it really been only two months since the Disasteroid had threatened to annihilate Earth? Only two months since his two best friends began dating? Only two months since Danny had revealed his secret to the world? It all seemed to have happened eons ago to the official.

A chuckle accompanied the loud pounding of the rain as the boy shook his head. He was only fifteen and he was already talking like his grandparents. _I guess that's what happens when you've seen more than most people will ever see in their entire lives, _he thought, his sea-green eyes following a droplet trail down the river, growing as it intercepted other droplets. There was something almost poetic about it. Sam would have laughed if she could hear what he was thinking. Tucker, the techno-geek, was turning into a poet.

Turning away from the window , the mayor glanced around his darkened room. His top hat sat on his desk next to forlornly stack of papers needing his signature. He slipped his fingers under his square glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. _That_ had never been his favorite part of his job. Some days he felt he had signed so many papers that his fingers were going to fall off. The media hadn't helped either when he had first started. It had been hard to find somewhere where the cameras didn't follow him, asking him questions about his position or friendship with the ghost boy. He knew it was worse for Sam. Somehow the scavengers had found out about _them_ and wouldn't leave her alone.

That was a month ago before Danny had gone on his first international ghost hunt. When he had found out about the torture his friends and family had gone through, well, let's just say the media kept away from them as much as possible now. Tucker grinned at the memory of Danny's all-to-innocent face when Sam had asked him what he had done.

Nope. Nothing had really changed. They still spent all their free time together, which was few considering Tucker's position and Danny's fame, but they tried. Danny and Sam's relationship hadn't altered the friendship between all three of them at all, both of the saving the romance for more intimate times. With Jazz off to college, Jack and Maddie continued to invent, making many of the weapons that Danny and Valerie used while hunting, now that Vlad wasn't suppling the Red Hunter anymore. Valerie had taken a hit after discovering both Vlad's and Danny's secret, but had quickly recovered, teaming up with Danny and watching over Amity while he was away, her friendship with Danny stronger than her hate.

Lightening flashed across the sky, illuminating the large statue in the courtyard in front of the town hall. The white and black marble shimmered in the light. The town had been enthusiastic about the creation of the statue, and Danny hadn't even been at the ceremony. And yet, the halfa had made Sam's birthday party a few weeks ago. Danny had already told the techno-geek that he already had gotten him a present, even though his birthday wasn't for another four months. The mayor just hoped that Danny made it back for his own in two months. Maybe that was what had caused Tucker's reminiscent mood.

The halfa had left two weeks ago to get rid of a ghost problem in Europe. When Danny had gotten the call to go to Windsor Castle to get rid of a ghost, the trio had nearly died from laughter. It seemed that the ghost of Queen Anne Boylen had thrown her chopped off head at a tourist that looked like her ex-husband and knocked him down the stairs, resulting in several broken bones and a lawsuit against the owners of the castle. The ghost hunter had called after the first two days to tell his friends and family he would be staying the two weeks to clear the area of any other potentially dangerous specters.

Today was the day he was supposed to return.

Another bolt of lightening flashed across the sky and shook the air. The delicate, antique china in the case by the wall shook as the shock reverberated through the city. _Then again, maybe it would better if he stayed in Europe. This isn't exactly the best flying weather._ A brown hand leaned against the sill and supported the teen's chin. His eyes searched the sky for his friend.

He was interrupted from his search by a knock at his office door. Sighing and cursing whoever had chosen today to bother him, he pushed himself from his seat by the window and stood next to his desk, elegantly sitting down behind his desk. "Come in," he said, watching his door open to reveal his assistant. Wavy brown hair with blond streaks swayed around her small shoulders. Usually tied professionally into a bun, the teen was surprised by its length, nearly halfway down her back. The navy jacket she had been wearing this morning had been removed to reveal a white blouse with a navy skirt. The woman in front of him was always very strict about the way the politics of Amity presented themselves, it was nice to see even she could ease up a little bit once in a while. "Katherine?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt Sir, I know how you wanted to keep this day free," she slipped in the door and snapped it shut behind her. "There is someone who wishes to see you, but he refuses to give me his name. I've already tried to tell him that you are busy with paperwork, which I see you still haven't finished," she said reproachfully, eyeing the stack of untouched papers on his desk. Tucker repressed a smile. His assistant was too much like his mom. She knew how to make you feel guilty without accusing you of anything. The mayor waved his hands dismissively and smiled.

"Sorry, but you know I can't concentrate. Not when he could be trying to get through this," he motioned toward the storm raging outside his office. Katherine frowned, her body language showing what she thought about his lack of concentration. Then she looked at the boy's, the mayor's and her superior's expression, and her feature softened. Paperwork could go unnoticed just this once.

"He'll be fine Sir. I admit he might be a bit reckless sometimes," she smiled as a smirk pulled at the teen's mouth. It was amazing that three teen's she had gotten to know since Tucker had become mayor could even be capable something like saving the town and the world. The all seemed so young, but strangely, that did not seem to deter them from their tasks. Mayor Foley had immediately set to improving the town as soon as he was elected. Sam Manson was now beginning to train with the Fentons so she could fight with Phantom and the Red Hunter. Danny... The kid was still a mystery to her. As Danny Fenton he was clumsy and shy, but as soon as he switched personas, he became cool and levelheaded. And the thing that connected all of them: something as simple as friendship. It was that friendship that she saw right now as her boss worried over his best friend. ", but he does know what he is doing. 'He may not look it, but he can handle himself' is what you said to me once. Now, about your guest, what shall I do?"

The teen looked out the window, his eyes glassy as he thought. "Send him in. Hopefully it will be fast." The assistant turned to leave but was stopped as the mayor began to speak. "You'll tell me when Danny gets here?"

"As soon as I know, you will know Mayor Foley."

"I've told you Katherine. You can all me Tucker. Mayor Foley makes me sound old." A smiled tugged at the assistant's lips.

"Very well... Tucker. I will send him in." She left, barely opening the door for her lithe form to slip through. The sound of her heals on the tile faded away as she went to find his guest. _I wonder who it is. Sam knows to just come up here._ Someone knocked at the door, and the hinges squeaked as the guest entered the room in a sopping wet trench coat.

" I'm sorry for the wait, it's just that I wasn't expecting any guests." He pushed himself out of the chair and walked around the desk to shake hands with the stranger. Two months with Katherine teaching him the way of politics had definitely paid off.

"Ouch! That hurts Tuck. After all the trouble I went through to get here on time." Tucker could feel his jaw drop as he gawked at his guest and best friend. A gloved hand reached up and tugged the dark hood of the coat down revealing a mop of black hair. The familiar locks were plastered to the teen's face and threatening to cover shockingly blue eyes. "So I don't even get a 'hello' from my best friend?"

"Danny!" Grasping his friend's hand and pulling him into a bear hug, the mayor patted him on the back. "Welcome back! How was you're flight," the mayor joked, eyeing Danny's windswept hair.

"Torture. I swear I'm never flying through a lightening storm like this again. The coat hardly did anything, my cloths are so wet I might as well have not even bothered with the extra weight. And I thought the weather in England was bad!" He pulled the dripping coat off and placed it on the coat hook by the door. Tucker raised his eyebrow and bit his lip as he took in the appearance of his friend.

Danny had grown. They all had for that matter, but Tucker had always been the tallest after his growth spurt shortly after being elected, now roughly around 6'2. Sam had grown a few inches, staying around 5'5. Danny was about two inches taller than Sam the last time the techno-geek had seen him, but he must have had a growth spurt when he was gone because now he was about two inches shorter than the young mayor. His hair was pretty much the same as it had always been, albeit a little longer and scruffier from the lack of time tending to it. The reason for Tucker's amusement was in the teen's clothing. He wore dark blue jeans, or they could just be wet from the rain, and a black t-shirt with the word "I saw the ghost of Windsor Castle and lived" printed in oozing green letters across his chest with the picture of a disembodied head.

The halfa saw his friend's amusement and smiled, looking down at his chest and raising his hands in surrender.

"The director insisted I take one, and who was I to say 'no'? I thought you'd like it. That's why I got you and Sam one." He stuck his hand into one of the pockets of his coat and withdrew something wrapped in wet brown paper. He unwrapped it and unfolded the shirt. It was identical to Danny's except the word said "My friend saw the ghost of Windsor Castle and (unfortunately) lived". Tucker chuckled and appreciatively took it from the halfa.

"This is great! Wait 'til Sam sees these! She'll die!" The African American teen struggled out of his shirt and eagerly pulled on the gift. "So what took you so long? I thought it was one ghost." Danny sighed, exasperation clear in his voice.

"It was. Unfortunately, the ghost heard I was coming and recruited a bunch of other ghosts to try and pick me off before I could capture her. One came close," the blue-eyed boy confessed wincing at the memory. "It took some time before I actually got to fight the Queen. Who would've guessed that so many people in Europe turned into ghosts." The halfa shrugged.

"Are you alright? No serious damage?" The hybrid shook his head and added an assuring smile just in case. "You're not going to tell Sam about that part of it are you?" Again the teen shook his head but was guilt evident in the movement. Silence filled the room as the boys made a silent pack to not tell the goth just how dangerous her boyfriend's mission had been.

"So you want to go down to the Nasty Burger and have a real 'welcome home' party this time? I can cancel all my meetings and such for tomorrow."

"No you can NOT! You already missed an entire day of paperwork, and I cannot allow you as your assistant to miss some extremely important meetings!" Katherine stood in the door, arms crossed over her chest, with a disapproving frown on her face. She turned to Danny and dealt him the glare Tucker had been getting a lot recently. "I'm sorry Mr. Fenton, but I cannot allow him to miss even more work just because you have returned. Welcome back by the way." Her brown eyes glanced at the coat on the hook and returned to glaring at the halfa. "I don't know why you had to hide your identity from me either. You know I would have let you in right away if I'd know it was you. The guards never bothered to tell me either."

"I asked them not to Miss Webb. Sorry, I just don't want a lot of publicity right now. The less people who know, the less chance it gets out that I'm home until I get to see my family," he covered a yawn behind his hand and excused himself, "and maybe get a bit of sleep." His lips twitched into a quick smile.

"You chose the wrong business if you don't like publicity Mr. Fenton." The teen chuckled.

"I didn't exactly get to chose if I wanted the powers or not. Again I'm sorry for bothering you. Maybe later?" He asked over his shoulder toward the young mayor. The techno-geek nodded and looked expectantly at Katherine.

Taking her cue, the assistant opened the door wider and revealed another person. "You have another guest Mayor Foley." Sam walked through the door and nodded her thanks to the woman who did the same and left the room.

"So where you planing on letting me know you were here, or are you really just avoiding me?" She assumed the same stance that Katherine had just been in and glared at Danny. The halfa flinched under the stare and unconsciously took a step back.

"No! Of course not! I just had to stopped by to see Tucker. I was planning on visiting you right after. I mean how could I ignore..." He stopped and rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "I missed you. Both of you. You don't how hard it was to stay there and not coming rushing home."

Sam's expression softened and she walked up to the her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around him in a warm hug. "I've missed you too, but," she drew away from him and looked at his shirt with a pointed look, "what are you two wearing?" The boy laughed and pulled the second package from his coat handing it the girl.

"I got you one too." The goth took it and shook her head in exasperation.

"You're so cheesy. You know that right?" Tucker guffawed and doubled over. Danny shot him a glare and smiled at the girl across from him. "You should go home and tell you're parents you're back. They've been working on something and seem a little too enthusiastic for my taste. Plus you're sopping wet." She pulled her gift away from the continuous drips that were falling off of Danny.

"Guess you're right." He walked over to the coatrack and pulled his wet coat on, the material squeaking as he rubbed against it. He walked back over to his friends, smiling as he willed his ghost-self to take over. The two rings of light slowly moved over his form. Sam and Tucker squinted as the light intensified when the rings got closer. When the transformation was complete and all light diminished, Danny Phantom stood in front of the two, smirking back at them.

"I'll call you guys tomorrow. You've got to fill me in on how things have been going around here, and I won't take 'fine' as an answer." He high-fived the other boy and turned to his girl-friend. Leaning forward, he placed a quick, chaste peck on her lips and smirked. "See you guys tomorrow." He turned intangible and lifted off the ground, phasing through the roof and back into the storm. Suddenly, the weather didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.

The ghost took off in the direction of Fenton Works at a speed that he only saved for special occasions. The familiar buildings and streets he had known for his entire life passed by him in a blur. A smile spread across Phantom's face as he preformed a loop and let out a cry of delight. Making sure no one was on the street, he slowly drifted to his front steps. Fenton Works towered over him, the neon sign proclaiming its name turned off.

He jumped up the steps, feeling his heart race with each bound. His gloved hand rested on the cool metal of the doorhandle. Producing a small key from inside his jacket, he unlocked the door. The wood slab swung open and he quickly entered and shut it as rain began to wet the tile. He sighed in content, the ever-present smell of metal and fudge calming him already. He let his power slip away as he returned to his human form and turned around...

And saw nothing but orange. He felt his bones creak as is dad pulled him into a crushing bear hug, while his mom tried to calm her husband down and kiss Danny on the forehead. "Welcome home sweetie!"

"We're glad you're home son!"

"It's good to be home."

* * *

The room was dark, half of the room thrown into midnight-black shadows. What little light that crept through the small tinted glass window at the top of the thick dark oak door only spilled across two feet of the carpeted floor. The walls were granite and seemed to extend into the endless void that was the rear of the room. Maroon drapes covered the unseen windows and stopped any hope of light filtering into the circular room.

A soft knock resounded in the silent room. Several moments of silence filled the room before the soft click of the lock announced someone's entrance. A growl of frustration and squeak of a chair came from the shadows as a man entered the room. "I _thought_ I _told_ you _not_ to interrupt me today. Or have you decided that you are so high and mighty that my orders no longer affect you and your organization? Because let me tell you, you'd be nothing..."

"I'm sorry sir," the tall, fit man said. Red hair was cut close to his head in the traditional military fashion. Green eyes that seemed to belong to a cat's looked into the middle of the darkness, focusing on the hidden person. He was dressed in a white suit that seemed to generate its own light in the darkness and made his lightly-tanned skin look deathly pale. "But you wished to know when we've made success on Project Drogo."

A minute of noiselessness filled the room as the man waited for a response. "Very well. Tell your teams to execute the experiment again and report to me again if the results are the same."

"I'm sorry sir, but I believe that we are ready to start the last stages of our plan now. The experiment went better than any of us could believe. The scientists believe we can execute a full scale experiment in two weeks if we have all the elements. We have an asset ready for your command."

"No! Do the experiment again. We don't know what this could do yet and I'd rather not waste lives unnecessarily if I have the choice. Remember what happened last time." The hidden speaker stopped to let the implications sink in. The man nodded solemnly. "No mistakes this time. Pass the message on to the scientists. Continue the research then send it to me to review. Only when I give the signal can you commence the last part of the project."

Taking this as the dismissal that it was, the employee turned to leave. He only stopped when his boss's voice called out from the darkness. "Although, I'll be needing that asset. I think I'll grant the scientists' wishes and collect the needed components. There's no need to slow the project down any more than it already is, is there?" The man smirked. He could almost here the grin in his employer's voice. The fun was about to begin.

"Indeed sir. I will make arrangements immediately."


	2. Normalcy

Ch.2 Normalcy

Danny tried not to frown as he felt the stares boring into his back. That was one thing he would never get used. He had gone through fourteen years of his life going mostly unnoticed. The complete one-eighty had thrown him for a loop. It was almost impossible for him to understand why he had wanted to escape the shield of invisibility he and his friends had moved under before. His sensitive ears picked up the whispers behind him and he was powerless to stop the frown this time.

"I'm guessing school wasn't one of the things you missed during your trip huh?" Blinking, the halfa whipped his head to the side to find Sam leaning against the row of lockers next to him. A light smirk pulled at her lips and one of her dark eyebrows was quirked. The frown dissipated into a smile as the boy chuckled.

"Not exactly." Grabbing pile of dusty books from his locker, he sighed. Turning the books intangible, the dust floated to the ground. Sam's expression became wry, but she opted to not to comment as her boyfriend slammed his locker shut. "Where's Tuck?"

"Meeting." The goth rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He didn't specify what it was about. Probably another meeting with Bret Carson though." Danny quirked an eyebrow. "Tucker's trying to get him to move his men out of here. The Guys in White have been crawling out of the woodwork since you left. Valerie's been furious. Something about more inexperienced rookies messing with her work." The smirk was now full-fledged and Danny chuckled.

"I bet." The bell rang, and the couple joined the crowd in the march to home room. "But why are the Idiots in White here? I thought they finally got the picture that between me, Valerie, you and Tucker, and my parents we've got things covered. We don't need they're 'help'."

"That's what Tucker's trying to figure out. They mostly kept us alone until you left." The girl frowned and bit her lip. "I don't like this Danny. Something's not right. They're up to something and I don't trust them. Just promise me you'll be careful when you're with them. I wouldn't put it past those neat freak feds to stab you in the back without batting an eye."

"Don't worry. I've got things handled. I know better than to just blindly trust them. I'm not a complete idiot."

"Hmm," Sam hummed uncertainly. "Whatever you say Fenton." Her face lit up as the teen remembered something. "Oh! Don't forget. We're meeting at the Nasty Burger after school. Think of it as your official 'welcome home' party."

"Aw Sam," the boy whined, giving the goth a pathetic look. "You know I don't want to do anything. I'm back. That's good enough for me."

"Tough. We're celebrating whether you like it or not. And don't even think about being late! Jazz is coming home and if you make us have to deal with her over-protectiveness again I'll finish the ghost portal's job." Her tone was menacing but a smile threatened to tilt her lips. The halfa laughed and nodded, holding up his hands in defeat and sighing dramatically.

"Okay, okay. You win. I don't know why I even try."

"Yeah. You think you'd learn by now to not fight me. I'm always right."

The boy scoffed."Whatever you say Manson," he quoted. Sam scowled in irritation and aimed a punch at his arm. He easily dodged it and grinned as his girlfriend fumed. The last bell rang and the two slipped inside the classroom before Mr. Lancer could close the door.

* * *

A pair of eyes was immediately on him as a shiver raced down his spine. A pout threatened to appear on his face. He had been doing so well too! He had effectively hidden his surprised gasp and the trail of chilling mist twisting form his lisp with a hand covering his mouth and a yawn, nothing new during one of Mr. Lancer's lectures. No one had seen anything out of the ordinary with the action until he had shivered. Stupid human impulses. You'd think, being half-ghost, he'd be used to the cold.

"Danny?" Sam's whisper was urgent and demanding. The boy sitting in front of her, Mike or something, turned to glance at her, curious at her tone. The halfa suppressed a groan. The person next to Mike noticed the motion and followed his neighbor's example. There was a ripple that passed through the class as each student eventually turned to face the couple in the back. The goth ignored the looks, refusing to look away from her friend's blue eyes.

It wasn't long until the teacher noticed his audience's lack of attention and looked up from the passage he had been reading. There wasn't any surprise in his eyes when he followed his class's gaze to the famous ghost boy. "Is there a problem Mr. Fenton?" Wincing, the boy tried to ignore the twenty-five pairs of eyes trained on him. Blue eyes meeting the man's gaze, Danny tried not to flinch.

"Um..." Danny silently pleaded that whoever had decided to show up wasn't planning on causing trouble. He just wanted one day to pretend that things were back to normal and that the entire town wasn't waiting for his next big battle. His wishes went unheaded as a scream punctuated the silence. A scowl marred the boy's face and Sam looked less than happy. "Um.. Actually Mr. Lancer, can I please be excused for a moment." Several of the students starting murmuring excitedly, eyes lighting up in anticipation.

"They couldn't have waited _one_ day?" Sam's grumble was spoken for his ears alone. Danny shot her a guilty glance before turning back to the man as he sighed in defeat.

"Very well Mr. Fenton." Mr. Lancer met his student's gaze sternly and frowned. "I expect you back here in ten minutes. No later." Biting back the protest, the halfa nodded and jumped form his seat, racing out of the classroom, but not before he had heard Sam claim she needed to see the nurse. Depending on if Lancer was cooperative today, she would probably meet him, thermos in hand, in five minutes. If not, then Valerie would have something.

As soon as the door close behind him, the twin rings encircled him, filling the hallway with a soft glow. He felt his body become weightless as his flesh and blood became ectoplasm. His baggy clothes were replaced with his hazmat, insignia declaring his name across his chest. A wry smile graced his lips as Phantom took to the air. Old habits died hard apparently. He was still making sure that no one was around when he transformed. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, the teen steeled himself for the next fight.

The second floor quickly passed through him as another scream reverberated in the halls.

* * *

"We are a _federal_ organization. You have no right to restrict my men's movements in this town or anywhere else!"

"I do if the _federal_ government had given me permission to. The government seems to understand what you don't: Danny Phantom, the Red Hunter, and Mr. And Mrs. Fenton have things under control here. There is no need for you to be 'examining' areas of Amity Park without my consent."

"Ghost attacks have doubled since your so-called 'hero's' appearance. It is my job to make sure that no one, no _thing_ disturbs the balance, since you seem unwilling to do anything about it." Tucker bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying something the man across from him could and would use against him.

"I am unwilling to try and fix something that doesn't need to be fixed Agent Carson. If you looked you would see that the amount of casualties and injures has also decreased since Phantom has started to defend this town. Now, you didn't answer my original question. Why are your men in Amity?"

"As I said before _Mayor_ Foley: that is confidential information. I cannot easily release it to... those not directly involved in the case. I suggest you stop asking, because you will get no answer from me." The large man's thick black mustache shivered as the agent from the Guys in White spoke. Being higher up on the food-chain than most field agents, Bret Carson was in command of the positioning of a large amount of the organization. They hadn't figured out how far up he was, but he was the one they were dealing with now.

"I need an answer Agent Carson, or I can't give you permission to enter the town's perimeter. If you don't, you will get all your men out of my town and leave my friend alone." The young mayor shoved his chair back as he stood, hands banging on his desk in emphasis. Carson was silent for a moment before leaning forwards so he was eye level with the teen.

"I suggest you rethink your alliances Mr. Foley. The time is coming when those alliances might hurt you more than help you."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not the kind of person who'd betray a friend."

"You might think otherwise in a few weeks." The man straightened and cleared his throat. "I will make a deal with you. I will give you a general description of what my men are doing if you allow them free access to your facilities. Deal?" The Guys in White leader held out his hand. Tucker looked at it for a second before his sea-foam green eyes locked with Carson's.

* * *

The redhead senior screamed, ducking beneath one of the lab tables as fire blocked her only path to the exit. Mr. Poluka stood in the doorway, trying to convince her to run. A monstrous roar sent a shiver through her and made her press her back closer to the desk. Her legs shook with fear. There was no way she was going to be able to escape without being burned alive.

The dragon ghost took a step forward and crushed one of the tables. An assortment of chemicals spilled onto the floor, steaming as they reacted with each other. The chemistry teacher gasped. "Rachael! Get out of there!" A quick glance confirmed the senior's worst fears. Fire licked both sides of the desk she was hiding behind again, and she let another scream escape her throat. There was no way she was going to survive this! She was going to die!

The black beast stepped forward, its head peaking over the desk. A cruel grin pulled at the creature's maw, revealing razor sharp teeth dripping with green saliva. Close enough to hear the grumbling work its way from the ghost's stomach, up its neck, and into its mouth, Rachael knew what that in a second she would be dead, burned to a crisp. With a powerful roar that rocked her entire body, the beast released the fire in a steady stream. Glueing her eye shut and curling into a ball, the trapped student waited for the pain.

Cold air rushed over her and gooseflesh appeared on her skin. Frowning, she opened her eyes wondering why she wasn't dead. Her heart lept into her throat as her eyes adjusted. The flames rained down on her, spilling around her like a waterfall. The whole world was tinted green, the film twisting with energy. Someone grunted beside her and the redhead finally realized she wasn't alone anymore. Her eyes widened as they took in the form of the famous ghost boy.

From what she could see, he was around average height, or at least he wasn't as tall as the jocks and he definitely wasn't short. He didn't have the body of a jock or the stereotypical superhero either with bulging muscles. His body was more streamlined and compact, like a gymnast. His white hair was mussed, probably from flying, and fell over his stern, glowing green eyes.

She finally understood why he had had a fan club even when half the town believed he was evil. If the heroics and mysterious nature hadn't drawn the girls in, his looks had.

His arms were extended and power flooded from them, creating the swirling green shield around the two teens. The odd colored flames licked against the barrier. Several of the beakers exploded, their contents reacting to the oppressive heat. Rachael's eyes opened as she remembered the spilled chemicals. Leaning back around the desk, she found the remains of the smashed desk. The dragon's fire was moving closer to the dangerous mixture.

"We have to get out here! It's going to explode!" The ghost teen turned to her, confusion, surprise, and annoyance written across his features.

"What!?"

"Those chemicals over there. If the fire reaches them, it'll make this entire side of the school explode." A grim line formed on the boy's brow as he looked in the direction she pointed. His pale eyebrows furrowed and she could see the gears turning in his head. Grunting in frustration, his green eyes met her brown and she felt like she was looking at someone far older than the boy.

"I have a plan. Grab on. We need to get you out of here first." Nodding shyly, Rachael wrapped her arms around the boy's neck. Making sure she had a tight hold, Phantom took a deep breath and dropped his shield.

The flames leapt at the teens, roaring along with the dragon. She felt the ghost boy tense beneath her and the next second they were in the air, the flames burning the spot they had just been. The dragon noticed its prey had disappeared and turned to glare at the pair. Anger burned in its dark eyes and flames lit up its maw again. "Shoot!" Without a warning, the town's hero was moving again, easily dodging the next attack. The line of fire moved toward them as the ghost swivelled its head.

Looking back over his shoulder, Phantom cursed as he saw the ghostly fire coming toward them. "Hold on!" Coming to a short stop, the halfa flipped over the incoming inferno, the heat tickling his companion's back. The boy shot out his hand and the temperature dropped, ice forming over the dragon's mouth. The ghost thrashed and clawed at the mask. Landing on the ground, Phantom held his hand out toward the remaining fire. The flames froze at his command, looking like some bizarre ice sculpture.

"Okay, one catastrophe avoided. One more to go." Helping the redhead off his back he glanced at her and motioned for her to run. "Get out of here!" Nodding numbly, she turned and raced toward the door. Mr. Poluka waited until she was through before nodding his thanks to the ghost boy. The teacher and student raced down the hallway and out of sight.

Without anyone else to worry about, Danny Phantom turned to face the dragon ghost, smirk on his face. "Why don't we call it quits Aragon? We both know how this is going to end." The prince seemed not to listen as he thrashed his head in an attempt to shake off the ice. Angry red eyes focused on the teenager. Fire licked the inside of the creature's mouth and the ice melted away. With a mighty roar, Aragon leapt at the halfa

....and was slammed into the wall. Blinking, Danny heard an ecto-gun recharge and turned. A slight grin spread over his features. "What took you so long?"

"Shut it Phantom. Tetslaff refused to let me out." The red and black clad ghost hunter looked pointedly at the dragon. "And if you were here so early, why haven't you finished him off yet? Did your trip to Europe make you soft?" Shaking his head and chuckling to himself, the halfa floated over to the African American girl.

"For your information, I had to save someone and stop an explosion. I'm sorry I can't multitask." A grin threatened to pull at his lips, his tone playful. "Nice to see you haven't changed since I was gone Val." The girl snorted.

"We'll talk about why you didn't tell me you were back later. Right now, let's get rid of this overgrown lizard." Her visored vision swung back over to where she had shot the ghost, the beast picking itself out of the rubble it had caused. Danny could almost see the wicked smirk on her face. Rolling his eyes, he lowered himself into a defensive position. Some things never changed. He was just glad that he wasn't her main target anymore.

"Any plans?"

"We go in a fry his butt?" The blunt remark made the ghost boy chuckle. Yeah. Some things never changed.

"After you."

"As it should be." Her large ecto-gun whizzed to life and the end of the barrel began to glow. "Say goodbye creep." The weapon discharged and she was forced backward from the recoil. With a battle cry, Danny shot after the blast. The shot hit the ghost head on and the area was covered in smoke. Racing into the aftermath, the halfa felt his hands be covered by ectoplasmic energy. Finding the giant form of Aragon, he shot the energy at the ghost, feeling the slight, almost insignificant, drain of his energy as the blasts left his fingertips.

Aragon roared in pain as he was bombarded from both sides. Flexing his wings, the ghost turned intangible and flew through the ceiling. Valerie had already created her temporary intangible hole through the ceiling and was giving chase. Phasing through the roof, the ghost boy shot another pair of ectoplasmic energy blasts at the beast. A weapon discharged and the prince screamed. Floundering in the air, the dragon tried to stabilize himself. Another shot from the girl ghost hunter knocked the creature out of the air.

The ground shook as the ghost landed. Flying down to stand before his opponent, Danny looked at the fallen prince. Green blood poured over black scales from deep wounds and collected on the ground. The white-haired ghost frowned. Since when was Aragon willing to go this far in a fight? Usually, if there was any chance that he could get seriously hurt, the prince was no where to be found. What was so important that he'd be willing to risk his existence? "What do you want Aragon?" Once again, the dragon didn't answer, just glared angrily at him with blood red eyes. Struggling to its feet, the ghost opened it maw, flames streaming toward the halfa. Yelping in surprise, the ghost boy jumped into the air.

The flames followed him, licking at his feet. Extending his arms, Danny watched as ectoplasm formed a cocoon around him. The fire molded around the shield for the second time today. Dropping the shield, the teen shot into the air, pulling out all of his aerial tricks. Valerie shouldered one of her larger weapons and aimed her crosshairs at the dragon. The blast hit the ghost and the trailing fire stopped. Grabbing his chance, Danny slammed his hands together, building a condensed ball of energy between his hands. Tossing it at the prince, it detonated, creating a cloud around the ghost.

The wind dissipated the smoke faster that it had inside and the humanoid form of the prince came into view. Blood covered his clothing. Danny flinched as a pang of quilt clenched his heart. He hadn't meant to go that far. "Yikes. Is this guy impervious to pain or something? He shouldn't have been able to move let alone fight with those injuries." The halfa shook his at his friend's question.

"That's what I don't get. Aragon isn't a fighter. I can't figure out what would possess him to do this. Why attack the chem lab?" A frowned pulled at the boy's eyebrows as he landed near unconscious prince. "Do you have a thermos or something. We should get him back to the Ghost Zone." The Red Hunter nodded and began to rummage through her pack.

"Ah!" Head snapping up, Valerie gapped as Danny stumbled backward, holding his face. The supposedly unconscious prince was barely standing, his red eyes focused only on the ghost boy. Pulling his hand away from his face, the halfa saw his silver glove covered in green ectoplasm. Valerie gapped, unable to move from surprise. With a feral snarl, the ghost prince leapt at Danny, hands clawing in the air.

Hand flaming with energy, the ghost boy prepared to fire at the attacking ghost. A blue beam shot out, encasing the ghost. With another snarl, the prince turned to glare at Sam. The goth scowled and watched as the prince's form blurred as it was sucked inside the thermos. Quickly placing the cap on it and locking it, the violet eyed girl looked at her friends.

"Anyone want to explain what that was about?"

* * *

**Hey guys! I'm finally updating! I'm sorry this took so long. Thank you so much for you patience. Also, thanks for the reviews and the favs.**

**I hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter. It wasn't one of my best fight scenes. They will get better. I promise. Tell me if anyone seems extremely OOC. I haven't seen the show in a while (nickelodeon apprantly wanted to get rid of all of its best shows) so I have to reaquiant myself with the characters. Tell me what you think. Reviews are always appreciated, even if its all just crit.**

**Thank you again. I hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Beginnings

Ch. 3: Beginnings

Tucker discretely glanced at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. They were late! He had made sure to leave the town hall early in order to be here on time, and they were late! Drumming his fingers against the booth's table, the black boy tried not to look to impatient. Heaven forbid his companion noticed his fidgeting.

"They're late." Flinching the young mayor, nervously grinned at the redhead sitting across from him. Probably not the best thing since the girl was training to become a psychiatrist and knew the signs of anxiety like the back of her hand.

"Maybe they hit traffic?" Blue eyes met his and he sighed. "Come on Jazz. This is Danny we're talking about. He's..."

"That's what I'm worried about. Self-preservation hasn't always been the highest on his list of priorities. He has a tendency to put others before himself. Who knows what he could have gotten himself into now." The older Fenton sibling sighed and took a long draft from her drink, her eyes wandering to the entrance.

"Jazz, you worry too much. Danny can take care of himself. We would have heard from Sam if things had gotten... out of.... hand?" The two teens' eyes dropped to the PDA on the table, happily vibrating as it announced a new message. Jazz glared pointedly at the boy who grinned sheepishly and hesitantly picked up the device. Clicking on the tiny image of an envelope, Tucker prayed it was just a text advertisement about some new piece of tech. A groan escaped his lips before he could stop it. Lady Luck had not been with him today. First with Carson and now...

"What is it? What's wrong?" Preparing himself for the overload of sisterly over-protectiveness, the mayor held the PDA out for the college student to read. Eyes flashing over the screen, the redhead jumped from her seat, keys appearing in her hands. "C'mon Tucker! We'll take my car."

Cursing his best friend for choosing today to pick a fight, Tucker quickly followed said friend's sister. Glaring at the screen one last time before shoving his beloved device in his pocket, the teen raced out of the Nasty Burger. The message still blinked across his eyes though. _**Danny's house. Now! We've got a problem.**_

* * *

The car screeched to a stop outside the Fenton household. Tucker peeled himself off the seat, jumping out of the car. It seemed reckless driving was in the family. He prayed Danny would miss that particular trait when it was their turn to sit behind the wheel. "Ground! Sweet, unmoving ground!"

Jazz ignored the teen, racing up her front steps. Her keys jingled as she shoved them in the lock. The door swung open and slammed against the wall in her hurry. Ignoring his shaking legs, Tucker jogged up the steps after her. The house was dark and quieter than the young mayor had ever heard it. There was always something going on- people talking, shouting, machines beeping, explosions, laughter. Without any of the usual noises, the place felt like a graveyard. Squashing down the imagery before his overactive imagination could turn it into a horror film, Tucker silently walked into the Fenton's home.

"Mom? Dad? Danny?"

"Jazz? Down here, dear." Maddie Fenton's voice floated up the stairs. Jazz and Tucker turned to the open doorway to the lab and ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. The normal noises of the house returned, though somewhat dulled, as they reached the basement. Jazz paled and her hand flew to her mouth, a gasp slipping through her lips. Danny looked up at the noise and smiled.

"Hey Jazz. Tuck. Sorry we didn't call earlier we kinda got distracted." Next to him, Sam scoffed.

"Danny, what happened?" The halfa winced. Tucker couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open. The black-haired boy sat half-dressed on a stool in the middle of the lab, all equipment had been shoved to the side save a table and waste basket. The garbage was overflowing with bloody clothes and bandages, a strange mixture of green ectoplasm and red blood staining them. Clean bandages and rags were on the table along with an array of medical equipment.

Sam was beside Danny, a roll of gauze in hand. Her attention was on dressing a small wound on her boyfriend's bicep that he must have gotten during his trip. Valerie leaned against the table, worry clear on her features. A few old bruises peppered her dark skin, but she looked no worse for wear. Jack hovered next to the young ghost hunter, unsure what to do to help his son. Maddie was holding a cloth to the youngest Fenton's face.

"Aragon decided to show his ugly mug at school."

"Aragon? That spoiled prince?" When Danny nodded as much as his mom turned medic would let him. Tucker frowned. "Are you telling me that _Aragon_ is the reason you've got everyone so worked up? The guy's a pushover. I think you're losing your touch dude, if he can get you this bad." The tech geek motioned toward the pile of bloody fabric.

"That's the problem. Something wasn't right. I've never seen Aragon go so far, especially when his neck is on the line. It's like he was a completely different person." The boy's vivid blue eyes darkened as he became lost in thought. "It was like he was possessed or something, as odd as it sounds." The halfa chuckled wryly.

"Well, whoever it was got a pretty good hit in." The entire group around the boy frowned. "What?" Maddie looked up and sighed.

"That's the second part of the mystery." Dabbing at her son's face and eliciting a hiss of pain, the woman smiled apologetically and threw the bloody rag into the waste basket at her feet. Jazz gasped again, racing over to her brother. Three long cuts ran from the boy's temple to right above his chin. They weren't deep, but as soon as the cloth was gone, blood dribbled from the wound. "It's been like this for ten minutes now. The bleeding has, thankfully, finally slowed. They just refuse to completely heal." Grabbing another piece of gauze the older redhead placed it back on her son's cheek. She peeled it away and for a second, the group could see the purple and black tinge to the skin around the wounds. "And this is with his already enhanced healing."

"I'm_ fine_, Mom. This isn't the worst I've had to deal with." As soon as the words left his mouth, the halfa winced and looked pleadingly at his parents. "Can you guys forget I said that?" Maddie sighed, putting a permanent bandage on the teen's cheek.

"I wish we could. It's not exactly helping my conscience right now." The woman sighed again and patted her son's knee lovingly. "Just promise me you'll take it easy until we find out what's going on. We don't want those cuts opening again because you didn't give them time to heal." The black-haired boy frowned.

"But, Mom! I can't just ignore the ghosts. It's my responsibility! I have to..."

"Danny." The warning in the redhead's voice stopped the teen. Unable to keep the frown off his face, Danny met his mom's eyes defiantly. "All you have to do, young man, is rest. You just got back from a long trip. You shouldn't have even been involved in the fight today. Leave it to us. We can handle it." A sweet smile pulled at the woman's lips and she playfully ruffled her son's messy hair. Sighing in defeat, the teen shook his head.

"Alright. Fine. Just until this heals, then I'm back in business." His mother nodded and packed up the medical supplies, before leaving. Following his wife, Jack turned to his son and smiled.

"Don't worry Danny! We'll make sure all those spooks know not to mess with the Fenton family! You'll see! There won't be a ghost for miles once we're done! This is a great chance to test the..." The overweight man's voice disappeared as he went up the stairs and the door at the top slammed closed. The remaining teens groaned collectively.

The ghost boy turned to his friends. "So you'll make sure to take care of everything while I'm 'grounded'?" Valerie smirked and put her hands on her hips.

"We survived two weeks without you, Fenton. I think we can last a few more days. It's not like you're the only competent ghost hunter in this town." The two ex-rivals grinned at each other. Sam crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the black girl. Seeing the look, the Red Hunter rolled her eyes and shouldered her backpack. "Well, I better go make sure my dad doesn't start freaking out. He's bound to have heard about the attack at school by now. I'll see you guys later." With wave, the girl ran up the stairs, leaving the two Fenton siblings and Sam and Tucker alone.

Grabbing his shirt from the table, Danny carefully pulled it on. The other three teens frowned as they noticed how careful he was not to stretch any of his old injuries. "I guess asking how your first overseas trip was is irrelevant now," the older girl said, looking pointedly at a rather nasty bruise.

"I'm _fine_, Jazz. You don't have to worry about me." The older Fenton looked unconvinced , eyebrow quirked disbelievingly. The goth wore the same expression, though anger tinged her features more than Jazz's.

"If I didn't have to worry about you, we wouldn't be receiving messages telling us there's a problem." Placing a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder, the college student looked pleadingly at the boy. "Now can you please tell us what is so important that you couldn't tell Mom and Dad? You're obviously hiding something." All eyes turned to the halfa who slumped and glanced at his girlfriend. The raven-haired girl nodded and rummaged through her bag on one of the counters. Taking out a small roll of paper, Sam handed it to Danny, who began to unwrap it. Tucker felt his stomach turn as a long needle with an empty vial was revealed. Jazz gapped and looked questioningly at her brother. The teen looked solemnly at his friend's eyes and held the item up.

"We found this on Aragon's shoulder before we sent him back to the Ghost Zone. I think its safe to say that this is what made Aragon go berserk." The needle flashed dangerously in the lab's lights and Tucker took an unconscious step backward. "I don't recognize it from anywhere though."

"Why keep this from your parents though? I mean, maybe they can help us figure out where this came from," Sam challenged.

"The less they know the better. Mom's already having trouble letting me do this. If she finds out that the change wasn't natural and someone's targeting ghosts, I may never be able to leave the house again. So can you please keep this quiet?" The other teens nodded, though hesitantly. Sam and Jazz seemed less than pleased with the decision, but knew that what Danny had said was true. The small group had downplayed just how dangerous some of the ghosts could get.

"Alright, little brother. You win. But if there is any _hint_ that you're in trouble, I'm telling Mom." Sam rolled her eyes and grinned wryly at the redhead.

"Wouldn't that be, oh I don't know, all the time, Jazz? This job isn't exactly known for being safety conscious." Sam leaned against the desk, looking blankly at the older Fenton.

"Especially with half of the Ghost Zone out for Danny's head." Three pairs of glares were pointed at the tech geek who grinned sheepishly. "Well its true!" The mayor motioned toward the needle. "I'll run some tests on the vial man. Maybe I can find something that will tell us what was in it." The halfa nodded appreciatively and handed the other boy the device, unable to stop the smile when he saw the mayor flinch. The teen's fear of all things dealing with the medical field was a welcome ray of normalcy.

"I'll work on trying to find a possible ghost candidate. That is if it is a ghost at all." Danny frowned, confusion written across his features.

"What do you mean, Sam?"

"She might be on to something." Tucker tapped his chin in thought, ignoring the surprised and curious gaze from his best friend. "I had a meeting with Carson again today." The info didn't seem to surprise the ghost boy so he continued. "I'm sure Sam told you about how the Guys in White have suddenly been showing up right? When I asked him why, Carson refused to say anything. I finally got him to admit that they 'lost' something and need to get it back ASAP. Of course, its all covered in red tape and I couldn't find out much more."

"Any clue as to what this thing that they're looking for is?"

"I think 'someone' is more appropriate. Whoever it is got away from them and their not happy about it. I gave them permission to be here as long as they stay away from you guys. The first sign of trouble and their out of here. Hopefully, we can find whatever it is before they do."

"Why did you let them in here in here in the first place?" Sam frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not exactly like they make our lives easier."

"This might help us Sam. Whatever their after, it can't be good." The halfa's eyes glazed thoughtfully. "It'll be easier to keep an eye on them if they're out in the open like this. Good job, Tuck. Can you keep tabs on Carson?" The dark skinned boy nodded.

"Katherine has promised to deal with him. He shouldn't be able to get away from Amity for a while now." There was a weary sigh and the ghost boy slowly got off his stool.

"Why do I have a feeling this isn't going to be easy?" Noone answered as all eyes turned to the silver needle resting in Tucker's hands.

* * *

Valerie smiled as the air rushed past her. Her new suit might be ghost-made, but it worked like a dream. Flying was a whole new experience. She could finally understand why she would sometimes find Danny doing aerial stunts in an empty park at night. To fly was to be free. You were in control of what happened. Gravity, the one unstoppable force, had no power over you anymore. Her board hummed beneath her feet as she sliced through the air.

The visor to her suit darkened and the smile vanished from her face. Numbers and windows opened before her eyes and her foot pressed the small autopilot button on the board. A long list of known ghosts popped up and images flickered in front of her eyes as the suit picked up on the ghost's signature. A small map at the bottom half of her screen gave a steady bleep as a red dot blinked.

Adrenaline pumping through her body and a feral smile pulled at her lips. It was time to hunt.

Turning the autopilot off, Valerie leaned forward and the board shot forward. The small dot came closer as she raced through the air. A ring formed on her visor and shrunk as she closed in on the specter. The list speed past her eyes and the suit beeped, **UNKNOWN SPECTRAL SIGNATURE** flashing across the screen. "Newbie huh? Lets see how long this one lasts."

She turned a corner at full speed and came to the spot the dot indicated. "Now where is that... !" The circle on her visor moved the top of her screen and shrunk until it blinked rapidly. Looking up, Valerie turned just in time to see the giant form come down on top of her. "What?!"

* * *

**Hey guys. Sorry this one was kind of short. It was mostly info. I don't have much to say other than I hope you enjoyed. Please review! Thanks to those who have already. You guys are so nice. Thank you so much. I hope you all have a happy new year!**


	4. Mysteries

Hi! I hope you guys are enjoying the new year. I have midterms and little free time so I'm pretty sure this isn't as cleaned up as it coud be, but I'm sick of looking at it right now. I hope you guys enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews!

I don't own Danny Phantom. It belongs to the brilliant Butch Hartman.

* * *

Ch.4: Mysteries

Jazz sighed as she trudged up to her room, thoughts elsewhere. It figures that her plan for having a relaxing weekend with her family was impossible the moment she set foot inside the large house. Even before Danny's secret was revealed to her parents, the couple made enough commotion to make a circus look calming. A loving smile pulled at her lips. It was no wonder her and Danny had turned out so odd.

The small room was exactly as she had left it. Everything was in its place and it was clean except for the layer of dust that had started to form while she'd been away. Setting down her bookbag, she pressed the button on her computer. The recent events needed to be documented. Sam had taken up the job while the redhead was busy with her studies, but the files were nowhere near as neat and detailed as Jazz would have liked them to be. Whether that was because of Sam's nature or the three younger teens were trying to hide how bad things were she couldn't decide.

The screen blinked and the hard drive whizzed to life. Settling back into her chair the girl frowned. She didn't like this. Something was definitely off about the whole thing. Strange changes in personality, no motives or provocations, the Guys in White, a missing classified object, and mysterious needles. Her first reaction was to blame the government group, but something nagged her. Their experiences with the GiW hadn't left any impressions of competence, least of all the ability to mask whatever was happening.

The computer sang as the main screen popped up and Jazz opened up the database she had created solely for ghost hunting. A less advanced and detailed version was wired to her parents' computer, but it held the bare minimum. Only the Danny, Sam, Tucker, and her had seen and used the true version. They had all agreed it was better that the adults didn't find out just what had been going on behind their back for so long.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she brought up a new entry and Aragon's file. Her blue eyes scanned over the page, her worried and confused frown deepening. Danny had been right. The draconian prince hadn't been acting like himself at all. He would never have directly attacked her brother unless the halfa threatened him. To come into the human world just to cause trouble, wasn't something the self-centered prince would do.

The new behavior was bizarre to say the least. Ghosts were usually instinctual beings. It was only the strong spirits that retained the ability to think and plan. For them to change their habits was near impossible. A giggle passed her lips as she thought of what the others would think of her calling the Box Ghost strong. Bringing the new entry to the front, she began to type, relating everything that Danny and the others had told her.

Lost in thought, she jumped when her cell phone vibrated and broke the silence in her room. She read the number across the screen and frowned. It wasn't one she recognized, but then she hadn't memorized some of her college friends' numbers either. Flipping it open, she cradled it between her shoulder and ear, continuing to type. "Hello?"

"Meet me outside the old Luna Hotel at ten o'clock. I have information about the Guys in White that your brother and his friends might find interesting." The redhead froze as the silky voice whispered in her ear. A shiver ran down her spine.

"Who are you? How did you get this number?" The voice didn't answer and she couldn't hear anything on the other side. Thinking the caller had hung up, the teen moved to close the phone.

" Wait! Please listen! I promise what I have is worth it. Just come at ten o'clock. Oh, and come alone. The less people, the better. Alright?" The voice had become desperate, pleading. "Please. I don't know how much time I have."

"Alright! Fine! I'll come." A relieved sigh rushed through the phone.

"The old Hotel. Ten o'clock." A pause. "Thank you." The line went dead, leaving the redhead to stare at the device in confusion.

* * *

People threw themselves to the side, hurriedly getting out of the teen's way. His sneakers slammed against the white linoleum floors, echoing in the large hallways.

"Danny! Wait up!" The halfa didn't break his stride as he glanced quickly over his shoulder. Sam was running after him, her shorter legs having trouble keeping up with his pace. Tucker, who looked like he was debating whether or not to turn and run in the opposite direction, jogged behind her, face red from the exertion. His mouth was working to continue talking, but Sam beat him to it.

"Calm down, Danny! Overreacting like this isn't going to help anyone!" This time, the teen hesitated for a second, his stride slowing to a brisk walk. Despite the circumstances, Danny felt himself smile. Once again, Sam was the voice of reason in the crazy world that had become their lives. The goth caught up with him now, jogging a few paces ahead and stopping in his path. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her boyfriend. "I know you're worried -we all are- but running in there and causing a commotion is only going to make things worse." The black-haired teen sighed and ran a hand through the unruly locks just as Tucker joined the pair.

"Yeah, man. What she said."

"I know! What's worse is that it's Valerie," the ghost boy's arms waved as he tried to demonstrate his frustration. "She doesn't get hurt like this. She's too ruthless to even give the ghosts a chance to attack." Danny started back down the hall, Sam and Tucker falling into step along side him. "The worst part is that whatever was strong enough to get her is still out there." A frown pulled collectively at the trio's faces.

"It's just another thing to add to our list of 'weird things that have happened we started ghost hunting'. We eventually figure everything out." The young mayor shrugged and nervously glanced around. "Speaking of which, I should probably go run an analysis on that needle you found. Say 'hi' to Val for me!" The tech-geek tried to make a run for it, but Sam grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back.

"Oh no. You're staying here. You honestly haven't gotten over your fears of hospitals yet?" The goth scrunched her face up in disbelief. Danny paused and waited for his two friends.

"No. Now can I go?" A spark of hope glittered in the boy's eyes, but the girl looked unconvinced. With a stern look from Sam, Tucker sighed and sulkingly rejoined the other boy of the group. Danny gave him a sympathetic look, but it was short lived as he started to stride down the hallway.

"Danny? Sam? Tucker?" The trio looked up to see Damon Gray watching them as the neared the room. The big man had dark rings under his eyes and worry lines furrowed his forehead. A dim welcoming smile crossed his face for a moment. "I guess I'm not surprised you're the first ones here. You three always seem to have a nose for trouble."

"Mr. Gray," Danny said in greeting, motioning toward the room with his chin. "How's Valerie?" The lines deepened and the man frowned.

"She still hasn't woken up. The doctors said she should be fine. It's just a few fractures, cuts, and bruises. Nothing out of the ordinary for you guys." The tone in his voice obviously told what he thought about that fact. All three teens winced. Damon had been the first parent to known about his child's ghost hunting, but his overprotectiveness hadn't dulled. He hadn't verbally rebid the teens from their job, but he had done everything in his power to keep them from it.

"Do they know when she might wake up?" Mr. Gray shook his head and the group deflated. That had never been a good sign. "Can we go see her?" The man nodded this time, unable to speak from exhaustion and worry. "Thank you." The three teens each shared sympathetic looks with the father before entering the small room.

The room was small and only housed one patient. A large window let natural light in and the white tiles seemed to glow. Everything was quiet except for the hum of the machinery attached to the African American girl. The friends gathered around the sleeping form, each looking at the numerous bandages covering the usually hotheaded teen.

"What could have done this," the halfa asked his companions, gently touching his friend's bandaged arm.

"Whatever it was, it didn't hold back." Tucker stood behind his friend, fear of hospitals forgotten for the moment. Sam just stood in silence, gazing at her ex-rival.

"I should have known I'd find you three here. It seems all four of you are inseparable." The trio turned to find a greying man in a white jacket stepping into the room. His face was round and cheerful, but stress lines framed his face. They nodded their greetings and the doctor closed the door. Danny turned to discreetly hide the white bandage on his cheek."How're you doing kids?"

"Can't complain, Dr. Kelly." Tucker and Sam both made room for the doctor around the bed. The man nodded in understanding, black eyes darting to the prone patient he was examining. "Any idea what happened to her?"

"Actually, I was hoping you might be able to fill me in on that." The room was silent as the doctor scratched something onto the files he was holding. "Whatever got Ms. Gray was strong. It would need to be in order to make these kinds of fractures." The group didn't answer, each caught up in their own thoughts. "There is something else though." The teen's head snapped up, three pairs of eyes training on the medical man. Dr. Kelly bit his lip in hesitation, glancing back toward the door. "What I'm about to tell you does not leave this room, understood?" Sam's eyebrows furrowed worriedly and the boys exchanged glances.

"Why?" Caution colored the girl's tone as she met the doctor's dark eyes. Danny turned to shoot his girlfriend a questioning glance and the doctor's eyes landed on the bandaged cheek the boy had kept turned away from the man. With a long-suffering sigh, the doctor shook his head.

"We'll talk about it in my office while I take a look at whatever you managed to do to yourself this time." Danny hesitated before nodding, meeting the man's eyes squarely before getting up. Sam and Tucker made to follow the two men, but the half-ghost stopped them.

"I'll be alright guys. You stay here with Valerie and her dad. He looks like he needs some support right now. I'll be right back." The two teens looked unconvinced but conceded anyway, going back to sit the chairs against the wall.

The walk to Dr. Kelly's office was relatively short considering the size of the hospital. Danny tried to ignore the stares from patients and rolled eyes from the nurses. He wasn't a new sight at the doctor's office. Dr. Kelly had been the only one the Fenton's had trusted to medically take care of Danny after they discovered his secret. Jazz had worked for him as intern for a while and had recommended him right away when the need came up. The man also was the only one willing to work with Maddie and Jack on trying to understand what had happened to the boy's DNA.

Once in the office, Danny couldn't help but chuckle. Half of the room was devoted to the usual office materials: desk, chair, filing cabinet, and the likes. The other half, however, could pass as a mini version of his parents' lab. Computers, vials, gadgets, and a bunch of machines Danny didn't know the purpose of lined the walls. In the middle was an examination table. The doctor had often joked that this was Danny's own personal hospital room.

"It's really not that bad," the teen insisted. The man just hummed non-commitingly and motioned for the boy to sit on the table. With a sigh, the boy hopped up with ease and pouted.

"I'll be the judge of that if you don't mind." Gently peeling away the gauze, the doctor frowned. Three red lines ran from the boy's temple to his chin. Ugly black scabs had formed over them and made them looked deeper than they were. The skin around was a sickly green and red combination. "What'd you do Dan? Try to shave with a rake?" The doctor tilted the boys face so he could get a better look at the wounds. A calloused hand grabbed his and his dark eyes met stern, icy blue.

"It was during a fight at school. It was weird though." The teen scrunched his face up in confusion. "We found a syringe on the ghost and he was acting.... odd. We're pretty sure he was drugged. We just don't know by who or why. Now, what did you want to tell me that's so secret?" Sighing, the doctor sat back on his stool.

"I suggest you keep this between the three of you. If anyone else found out, we'd be in trouble." The man paused for a moment. "When I tested some of Ms. Gray's blood from one of her wounds when she came in, I found something." Dr. Kelly moved over to one of the computer and open a file showing a picture of damaged cell tissue. "Something was eating away at the tissue. I've never seen anything like this toxin. Thankfully, I was able to nullify it before it could do any real damage, but I don't know for how long."

"Can you find an antidote? How did she get the toxin in her bloodstream in the first place?" Blue eyes widened. "You don't think it was from whatever put her in here do you?"

"Right now, that's the most probable reason." The doctor studied the boy for a moment. "Do you mind if I take a look at that syringe you found?" Danny frowned, but nodded.

"Sure. Tucker has it right now, but why?"

"I have a theory I want to test. After that, I'll give you a definite answer."

"Why? What's wrong?" Dr. Kelly met the halfa's gaze squarely, all signs of joking gone.

"The toxin I took from Ms. Gray's bloodstream was manufactured, made specifically for Ms. Gray."

* * *

"I'm sorry the mayor is not in right now. Can I help you?" Katherine sat behind her desk, trying not to let the animosity she felt toward the tall man show. It wouldn't be proper for the mayor's assistant to be hostile toward a guest, especially not a government official.

"I need to speak with him now."

"Well, I'm sorry. The mayor is out right now dealing with a serious personal matter right now. He should be back in an hour or so." Black sunglasses glinted in the bright light as Bret Carson turned toward the woman.

"I'm well aware of that Ms. Morr, but that does not change the fact that I need to speak with him right away. This involves the security of Amity Park and what happened to Ms. Gray. Now, once again, I need to speak with the boy now."

"The _mayor_ can't reached right now. The hospital banns the use of cell phones. I suggest you wait until he returns like everyone else." Anger swelled within her chest. She had taken a liking to the young mayor over the last two months. She wasn't about to let some pig-headed, Men in Black wanna-be, insult him in her presence, however subtle.

"I don't think you understand the severity of the situation here. It is of extreme importance that I speak with him _now_. We don't have time to delay. Call the hospital and get him on the line. My men need his permission to move freely throughout Amity Park and he has some valuable information he refuses to disclose. Your mayor's loyalty to the ghost-boy will cost this town hundreds of lives. I will not stand by and watch as some child's decisions destroy this town. We are moving with or without his permission on this matter." Katherine felt herself flush with rage and stood up.

"The mayor is entitled to conceal information as much as you are Mr. Carson. Your men do not have the right to move freely throughout this town without permission from Mayor Foley or someone of higher standing. If the town is really in so much trouble, then you won't mind telling me what the threat is. Unless you do, your men will report their workings to this office. Am I clear?" The man glared at her, face scrunched up in anger that rivaled her own. A cell phone ring interrupted the glaring match and the Guys in White leader answered it. A few seconds later, the man cursed viscously and ended the call.

He marched over to the exit, trying to conceal his hurry. With a rueful glare back in her direction, he sneered. "You and your foolish mayor might have just doomed us all." The door slammed shut as the man exited, and Katherine sighed.

* * *

Jazz felt the cold of the night nip at her skin even through the jacket she wore. A shiver racked her body but it was more from fear than the cold. It wasn't the right time of year for it to be this cold yet. The odds of the strange coldness being related were higher than the girl wanted to admit. The fact that she was going, by herself, to meet someone she didn't know didn't help her feel better. This was just something she felt she had to do. She had promised Danny that she wouldn't interfere until it was necessary, but there was a reason she had received the call.

Resolve reformed and hardened, the eldest Fenton offspring checked to make sure the spectral weapon was still in her purse and she could easily get to it. She didn't know if the person who had called had been a ghost or not, but the gun would distract a human long enough for her to get away if there was any trouble.

The tall hotel building loomed over her and she felt some of her resolve disappear. She had grown up hearing stories about how the old, abandoned hotel had been haunted. Even after growing up in one of the most ghost-oriented families in the country and seeing more than her fair share of the specters, it was hard to dismiss the tales that had worried most of the kids. Now that she truly believed in ghosts, old fears started to haunt her mind. What was worse was that all the noise seemed to have been sucked from the area. She could have handled squeaking doors, rattling chains, even hair-raising shrieks, but the silence tugged on her nerves.

"Hello?" Her voice seemed to die right after her voice. Taking a deep breath, the redhead berated herself. "Stop it Jazz. You've faced worse than this. You're getting yourself worked up for nothing. Calm down and think!"

"Hello?" Jazz jumped as the voice floated over to her and brushed against her ear. Pivoting on her foot, the girl glared at the owner of the voice.

He was maybe ten years old at the most. Dark chocolate eyes were set in a cherubic face. His head was shaved, the pale skin of his scalp shining in the pale moonlight. His skin was so pale she could see the intricate lines of blue veins under the tissue. Under dingy sweats, the boy was incredibly skinny. Wary eyes watched her, looking for any sign that she was dangerous. A sad smile pulled at the teen's lips. The poor kid was probably on his own on the streets and was suing the old building as a shelter. Crouching down, the girl motioned for him.

"Hey little guy. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. What are you doing out here? Where are your parents?" The boy took a step forward and looked her squarely in the eye, standing up straight.

"Are you Jasmine Fenton?" Said redhead blinked at the silky voice. There was no way that voice could belong to the boy. The teen tensed, now seeing the boy as a possible threat than a lost kid. She quickly searched for an etheral glow surrounding the boy, but found none.

"How do you know my name? What do you want?" Her voice had taken on a defensive edge which she mentally criticized herself for. This was not the time to loose her nerve. The boy bit his lip and frown as if trying to figure out how to answer her. He eventually gave up and tried an empathic approach.

"Please. You have to help me. There isn't much time." He looked nervously over his shoulder. "Please tell Danny Phantom that he's in trouble. This world is in trouble. They're after him. They somehow got into this world and they're going to destroy it. They're planning on bringing _him_ back."

"What? Who are you talking about? Who's after Danny?" Fear slithered into the teen's stomach and any care she had taken dropped. "What's going on?"

"Just tell your brother. Please! He needs to know. He..." The boy froze and spun on his heel. "Oh no." The kid took off, dashing toward the house. "Get out of here! Now!" Not needing to be told twice, Jazz turned and ran toward the nearest bush. She dove into them just as the silent area filled with noise. Motors roared, people shouted, lights buzzed, footsteps slammed against the broken pavement, and a creature screamed in pain.

Peaking out between the leaves, the girl chocked back a gasp. Ten men in white suits surrounded the area, guns blazing. She picked Carson out of the group easily. Their attention was focused on a bizarre ghost that looked like an experiment gone wrong. Several shouted orders passed between the men as they closed in on the ghost. Carson held a gun in front of his face, targeting the creature. A soft sound came from the gun and a dart embedded itself in the spirit's shoulder. A second later, the specter collapsed.

"Tell Harrison to prepare a cell. Let's get this thing back to the lab."

While the Guys in White occupied themselves, Jazz snuck out from the bush and away from the government agents. Her mind was buzzing as she jumped back in her car down the road. She needed to tell Danny.


	5. Missing

Hello! Not much to say other than thank you to all the people who reviewed. You're seriously inflating my ego. :) Anyway. I hope you enjoy!

DP belongs to Butch Hartman

* * *

Ch.5:Missing

"Get back here, whelp!"

"You have got to be kidding me! I don't have time for this right now, Skulker. Can't we postpone this?" Danny's voice was disdainful as he shouted over his shoulder at his pursuer, shifting the strap for the Fenton Thermos on his back. The hunter scowled and his jets whined as he pushed them to their limits. The halfa yelped as the ghost suddenly started to gain on him and sped up, ethereal trail waving madly behind him.

"Afraid not, ghost child Not until your pelt is in my possession!" Danny shivered at the mental image and flipped over so he was on his back. His hands glowed with power and the ectoplasmic blasts soared at Skulker with deadly accuracy born from nearly two years of fighting. They collided and a cloud of smoke obscured the boy's opponent. Slowing down, Danny watched the smokescreen for any signs of the hunter.

The white-haired ghost screamed as the blue energy grazed his shoulder and hit the building behind him, chips of bricks falling to the ground from the blast. Lightly touching the wound, Danny was glad to see his fingers come away clean. Sam and Jazz would really kill him if he came back covered in blood again. "Your getting slow. What happened to all that confidence you had a moment ago?" Green eyes flashing, the halfa glared at Skulker as the smoke cleared and revealed the unharmed specter.

"Right here!" Danny charged at the hunter, hands covered with energy. The space between them quickly vanished and the teen felt his knuckles slam into the metal suit. Skulker grunted as he was thrown backward from the hit, jaw dented. "Not so cocky now are we, Skulker?" The specter's eyes flashed in rage and he held his hand out toward the teen. A rocket launcher extracted itself from the gauntlet and locked on to the halfa. The missile exploded int the air as ectoplasmic energy hit its nose.

Frowning, Skulker charged at the distracted teen, aiming a punch at the boy's back. Twisting, Danny grabbed onto the fist and used it as a springboard to get behind the ghost. Pivoting the air, the halfa slammed his ankle into the suit's back and felt metal give under the blow. Screaming in rage and frustration, the hunter turned and rammed his elbow into the white-haired boy's face. Danny hissed in pain as the wounds on his face opened again as trickled blood down his neck.

"That the best you can do. whelp? I'm disappointed. Give me a real fight." Danny grit his teeth at the insult and flipped away from the hunter, making sure to kick his chin in the process. The suited ghost growled and pulled a gun from his belt, taking aim at the boy. Mid-flip, Danny rolled over to avoid the barrage. Righting himself, he felt his stomach turn as his vision kept spinning as his center of balance tried to return to normal.

"Ugh." Taking the chance, Skulker drove his fist into the teen's stomach, smiling as the halfa doubled over.

"Say goodbye, ghost child." A wicked knife protruded from his gauntlet and he brought it down on Danny's neck. Ignoring the pain in favor of saving his life, Danny caught the blade between his fingers, trying not to wince as it cut into his palms. Skulker, looking frustrated as another murder attempt went wrong, lifted his free hand to aim his gun at the halfa's face.

Danny cursed as the hair on top of his head burned away form the heat of the blast, but kicked Skulker's legs out form under him. As the ghost struggled with the sudden movement, the teen let ectoplasmic energy run from his fingers and into the suit. Skulker tensed as the suit tried to deal with the sudden overload of energy. Smiling, Danny flipped and brought his foot down on the hunter's head. Without full control of his systems, the specter was powerless to stop himself from falling to the ground.

"Ha! 'Is that the best you can do', Skulker? 'I'm disappointed. Give me a real fight.'" Adrenaline pumped through the boy's veins from the close call, and a confident smile pulled at his features. He lazily pulled the Thermos from its holster on his back and uncapped it.

"Don't count me out yet!" The large metal hand smashed into his chin and black spots dotted his vision as he was thrown back into the side of a building, bricks cracking under his weight. The halfa groaned as his body protested the abuse . No matter how many times that happened, he would never get used to the pain of crashing into something so...solid and unforgiving. His perception dimmed as his body used its energy to fix any damage it could. Super-healing was definitely one of the perks of being half-dead.

Seconds later, the fist from earlier was taking up his entire vision. His body instinctively went intangible even before his mind could process what that fist meant. Slipping through the brick wall, Danny cursed as he realized he had dropped the Thermos when he had been hit. Phasing back through the wall, the teen crouched against its rough surface, ignoring the weird feeling of standing perpendicular to the wall, and glared at the hunter.

"Let's finish this Skulker. I have more important things to do than fight you."

A cruel grin crossed the specter's face. "As you wish, whelp." Skulker charged at the teen, guns blazing. An easy, taunting grin played over Danny's face. Grabbing the extended arm, the halfa used his weight and gravity to pull the hunter down and twisted so he was on top. Releasing his opponent, he built up his energy and sent a wave of ectoplasm at the suited ghost. Skulker cried out as the attack slammed him into the ground. Danny let himself fall to the ground, becoming intangible as he hit the ground and floated back up through the street. Grabbing the Fenton Thermos, the teen clicked the small button on its side and the unconscious ghost was sucked into the device.

Letting his ghost form melt away in a wash of light, Danny noticed the small ring now that the sounds of battle had died down. "Oh shoot!" The teen dug in his pocket and withdrew his cellphone. "Hello?"

"Danny? Are you alright?" Sam's voice asked from the small speaker by his ear. The blue-eyed teen rolled his eyes. How was it that Tucker and her could immediately tell when something was wrong with him, even if all they heard was his voice.

"Yeah. I just ran into Skulker." The anxious silence from the other line made the boy sigh. "Don't worry. Nothing weirder than usual. You know, just the usual 'I will lay your pelt at the foot of my bed' threats and all. At least we know that whatever's going on hasn't affected all the ghosts yet." Danny paused, looking at the thermos in his hands. "How about you? Did you guys find anything yet?"

"Your parents are talking to someone who said they saw her last night driving toward the abandoned part of town. We're going to go see if we can find anything. Meet you there?"

"Sure." The halfa let the two rings of light form again. "I'm tired of just flying around. I'm gaining too much attention." Loud, excited shouting came from the other line, and the two teens sighed. "Though, I might as well just forget about trying to remain under the radar." He chuckled, but it was strained.

"We'll find her Danny. Jazz knows how to handle herself and is part of the team, something she won't let us forget by the way. She'll be fine." Sam's voice was soft and the boy felt some of the anxiety that had been building over the last two days ebb a bit.

"I know. Thanks, Sam. I'll meet you guys there. Bye."

"Later." The phone clicked as Sam hung up. Danny froze as another, less noticeable click caught his attention. The ghost boy frowned, ending the call and pocketing the device. He shook his head, trying to dispel any crazy theories, but couldn't ignore the feeling of eyes on his back.

* * *

Jacob Kelly frowned.

Why was it so hard to find some peace and quiet in this place? Even the thick, steel plated walls of his office-turned-lab couldn't block out the usual sounds of a hospital. Rubbing his temples and sighing, the doctor leaned back in his chair. The day had certainly been long. Correction: _yesterday_ had certainly been long if the blinking clock on his desk could be trusted

Ms. Gray's condition hadn't shown any signs of improving. Mr. Gray hadn't left her room since she was admitted and the doctor was starting to worry if the man would stay there until his daughter left. Then there was the weird cuts on Mr. Fenton's face. The boy was the faster healer he had ever seen. Usually, he only showed up in the hospital after one of his crazy stunts, not because of a silly fight.

The man chewed the tip of his pen, a bad habit he had picked up in school and couldn't seem to shake. Sudden attacks, weird cuts, deadly toxins, unidentified ghosts. He was getting too old for this kind of mayhem. He looked at the syringe Tucker had given him. He had been able to find a bit of whatever had been inside it and was now waiting for the results.

Meanwhile, the breakdown of the toxin in Ms. Gray's blood was on the screen of his computer. The doctor scanned over the list of elements and compounds the machine had detected and frowned. He had isolated the components of the toxin, but the research had come to a halt there. There wasn't anything in the toxin that would cause the type of necrosis he was seeing in Ms. Gray. It had either been dissolved already or the manufacturer was talented at hiding the true poison.

A frantic knocking at his door brought the man from his deep thoughts. Fixing his ruffled clothing, the doctor opened the door to find one of the older nurses. "Rosa? What is it?" The woman fiddled with her fingers and seemed unable to speak. Dr. Kelly gently held her shoulders and smiled patiently at her. "What's the matter?'

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I didn't think she was well enough to do something like this! She couldn't be!" The woman continued to babble nonsense until the man gave her a light shake. "The girl in Room 368. She's...."

There was a second of silence before the doctor was racing down the hallway. He could hear the commotion coming from the end and sped up, dodging people as he passed. He slid to a stop outside the specified room, then shouldered his way past all the nervous onlookers and into the room. His breath hitched.

The bed was empty; the window opened wide and letting the cool night air in. Mr. Gray kneeled by the bed, desperately clutching the sheets.

"She's gone. Valerie's gone."

* * *

The sun had started it descent on the horizon by the time Danny finally found his parents and Sam by the unofficial entrance to the abandoned and run-down part of Amity Park. The halfa shivered as the temperature seemed to drop as he approached the old building they had decided to stop at. The area had always been a magnet for rumors and legends about the supernatural. It didn't help that the existence of ghosts was more real than ever in the town. They would be sitting ducks in this place.

He landed and gave Sam a quick one-armed hug in greeting, noticing the small ecto-weapon attached to her hip. The girl looked paler than usual and gooseflesh dotted her bare skin. She obviously had figured out the same thing he had. If Jazz really had disappeared here, he just hoped that the rumors weren't true. "You okay?"

"Fine. This place just gives me the creeps." A playful smile covered her lips, but the boy could see they were forced. "I'll be happy when we find Jazz and get out of here." A frown pulled at the girl's features and a wave of relief washed over Danny. He didn't know what to do if the Princess of Darkness was scared of some old buildings. The goth reached up and gently touched his jaw, dark eyebrow quirking. "You're bleeding."

"It's not much. Skulker just got a lucky hit in. Don't worry about it." Sam nodded and the teens joined the older Fentons by the RV. Maddie's lips thinned at the sight of her son's blood, but she didn't comment. Jack was too busy tinkering with one of the guns to give them more than a mumbled greeting.

"We decided to split up, Honey. You with Sam and me with your father. You alright to fly both of you around while we take the assault vehicle?" With an affirmative nod from her son, Maddie relaxed, the tension in her shoulders disappearing slightly. "Be careful. The radar is picking up spectral signatures all over this place." Danny frowned, not remembering his ghost sense going off since Skulker. His mom seemed to noticed and smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry, Dear. Most of them are hardly formed while the ones that are haven't breached a two on the power scale. They shouldn't bother us. It doesn't hurt to be too careful though." No one missed the disappointed look on the older man's face.

"Sam has a pair of Fenton phones so we can keep in touch. Tell us if you find anything." The two teens nodded and the woman smiled. "We'll meet back here at midnight. If we haven't found anything by then, than there probably isn't anything to find. Be careful, kids." Worry crept into her voice and Danny winced. Maybe having his parents involved in his ghost fighting hadn't been his best idea. He had worried his mother far too often since the Disasteroid.

"We'll be fine, Mom. We'll see you later." Maddie nodded and Jack smiled at the teens before jumping into the front of the RV, babbling about whatever he had done to the gun to his patient wife. The halfa turned to his girlfriend and smiled tentatively. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Let's go already." Danny nodded and wrapped his arms around her waist. The extra weight proved to be extremely easy to lift and they were airborne in seconds. The action was so simple after a year of carrying his friends. It was almost reflex to compensate for the extra weight and position himself as needed. The boy glanced down at the girl in his arm and smirked. Sam had never really gotten over the excitement of flying. A grin pulled at her painted lips.

"Where to?" In the air, Sam was able to move to his side and wrapped her arm around his waist to stabilize herself. The goth looked at the area below them. She motioned with her free hand in the opposite direction his parents had taken.

"Your mom said to take the west side and work eastward so we eventually meet up anyway." The sound of the RV's speakers calling Jazz's name slowly died as they moved away from its source. "So I guess we're taking the silent approach," Sam asked when neither of them started to call for the girl.

"I don't want to draw anymore attention than necessary. My parents might not have picked up any powerful ghosts, but I wouldn't put it past this place to house at least one." He frowned, troubled by that little tidbit. The possibility that the ghost had Jazz hadn't forgotten to present itself. "Plus, I don't think calling for her will help. Whatever kept her from coming home probably won't let us find her easily if it knows we're looking for her."

"Plus, you're a magnet for trouble." A slight smirk played over her features while Danny did his best to look annoyed, failing miserably from the twinkle in Sam's eyes. The next few minutes were filled with silence as the teens searched for any sign of the missing redhead. Danny felt Sam tense as they passed through several cold spots, and the boy fought the urge to call forth his energy. Maddie had been right about the amount of ghosts, but they were all harmless. None of them had the energy to properly manifest, and wouldn't cause them any problems. They were just spirits that didn't cross over to the other life, stuck on Earth forever.

The halfa suddenly felt a deep sadness clinch his heart. He had to shake himself and force his body to keep moving. There was nothing he could do for them, even if he did try. There was something weird about it though. There shouldn't have been such a large amount of these creatures in one place. As far as he was concerned there hadn't been any large disasters to cause such a mass loss of life that would create these beings.

"Danny!" The urgent whisper instantly took the boy from his musings and put him on alert. Sam noticed his attention and pointed toward one of the larger buildings on the street. The ghost boy stopped his forward movement as he found what had caught the goth's attention. A dull light flickered in one of the upstairs windows, a shadow passing by the curtain. Danny felt his breath hitch as his ghost sense decided to kick in and the mist slithered out of his mouth.

They landed quickly, keeping to the shadows to remain hidden. Sam unhooked the gun from her belt and leaned against the wall. "Danny! You know what that is right? You heard the rumors about it right?" The green-eyed boy took a closer look at the building in question and paled further.

"The Luna Hotel," he breathed. His girlfriend offered a nod and her lips thinned. Everyone in Amity had heard the rumors about the haunted hotel. If there was anywhere in this place that would house a dangerous ghost, it would be there. Unsolved murders always seemed to create the worst ghosts. The boy moaned under his breath. "Jazz! What did you get yourself into?"

"You really think she's in there?" Sam didn't sound too enthusiastic about entering the old hotel, and Danny shared her sentiments. He grinned wryly at her in the dark.

"With our luck?"

"Point." The girl looked at the building with a critical eye. "So what are we going to do?"

"Let's try the window. At least we know someone's in there." He turned to head toward the tall building only to find that the light had been extinguished and any signs of life gone. "Okay. That was weird." Sam nodded her agreement. "What was that abo..." The teen was cut off as a rather hard brick hit the back of his head. Grunting in pain and surprise, Danny pivoted to see who had thrown the brick.

A frustrated frown marred his features as he glared at the Box Ghost. "Listen! Now's not really the time. Can you please just forget about whatever stupid scheme you have planned right now?" The short man didn't answer and just watched the two teens. Danny felt a chill run down his spine. This wasn't right. This wasn't like the Box Ghost at all. "Box Ghost? Are you alr... ah!" Several more bricks flew toward him, aimed at his head. The teen easily moved out of the way.

"Hey! What was that for!" The ghost never answered, but levitated more bricks around him from a broken wall.

"Danny! He's just like Aragon was!" Sam raised her own weapon and aimed at the tubby specter. Danny didn't answer, his eyes trained on the man. Without any warning, the bricks shot at them, crumbling against the wall as Danny grabbed Sam and took flight. Power coursing through his body, the halfa gathered a basketball sized amount of glowing energy in his hand and launched it at the Box Ghost. With deftness his bulk hid, the specter jumped away from the blow. The attack hit the ground where he had been and created a small crater in the cracking pavement.

Landing, the man held his hands in front of him and pink light shone from them. The light condensed into a square and Danny cursed. The goth at his side gapped in wonder. "Since when can he do that?"

"He can't! Or he shouldn't be able to for another nine years!" The boy winced at the memory. Nothing from that adventure had been a pleasant experience. "I was kind of hoping he'd never learn it honestly." The teen was cut off from elaborating as the cube was tossed at them. "Hold on!" He swerved around the attack, Sam tightening her grip at the sudden movement. It passed them and hit the side of a building. The teens watched aghast as the facade fell under the explosion. Danny audibly gulped as he assessed the damage.

"Sam. Call my mom and dad. We're going to need backup." He felt rather than saw the girl touch the speaker in her ear and call for his parents. His attention was brought back to the Box Ghost as the tiny man summoned another cube bomb. Gritting his teeth, he made sure he had a good hold on Sam. Putting her down would only put her in danger right now, but the extra weight would effect his fighting. His earlier fight with Skulker had also drained his reserves. Weighing the odds, the halfa waited for the bomb to be thrown.

A blast of green energy met the pink cube and the resulting explosion sent a wave of heat washing over the teens. Unable to think of another plan, the boy gently set his girlfriend on the ground. They had more of a chance if he wasn't burdened more than he already was. Who knew what tricks the box-obsessed ghost had up his sleeves. Anything could happen and he wanted to be prepared to react. He felt a bit better when Sam immediately pulled away from him and looked for a place where she could stay out of the action.

Distracted, Danny barely had enough time dodge beneath the sweeping kick aimed for his neck. Ducking under the attack, he grabbed the extended leg and used it to slam the Box Ghost into the ground. A grunt escaped the stout man's lips, but he showed no other signs of pain. Green energy pounded into the earth as the ghost turned intangible and sunk out of the boy's grasp. Growling in frustration, Danny stretched his senses to find his missing opponent. It was unneeded however as he was forced to fall backward in order to avoid a punch that would have broken his jaw.

His back against the ground, the boy shifted his weight to his hands and kicked out at the Box Ghost. Flipping over, he felt his blood chill and frost form around his fingers. A sheet of ice swept out as he swung his arm and encased the Box Ghost. A smirk pulled at his lips. Maybe he had been overacting. It was just the Box Ghost after all.

A cry of surprise and pain cut from his throat as a pink beam tore into his injured shoulder. Jumping away from the attack, he gapped at the free Box Ghost. He blinked and looked over his shoulder just in time to see the clone disappear. "Oh you've got to be kidding me! I'm still learning how to do that!" Further protests were cut off in order to dodge another bombardment of bombs. Spinning around the last of the attack, Danny leapt at his opponent, hands filled with crackling energy.

He felt his hand hit bone as he punched the ghost with his power-infused hands. There was a loud crack and the man's face jerked to the side. Wincing at the sound, the teen wasn't ready for when the specter quickly recovered and slammed the heel of his boot into the injured side of the boy's face. A gasp of pain escaped his lips and his body spasmed from the sudden pain. The Box Ghost took the chance to explode one of his cubed-shaped bombs against his chest.

The halfa was thrown backward into the cracking side of a building and groaned as his back slammed into the rough brick. Eyes still watering, Danny slowly pulled himself from the facade. "Danny!" The white-haired boy's neck snapped as he twisted to find Sam looking out of a window a story above him, gun held and ready in her hands.

"Sam!" He inwardly cursed. He had hoped she had left to meet up with his parents. He should have known better though. It wasn't like Sam to run away from a fight. "Get out of here!" The goth ignored him and leveled the gun. The recoil from the weapon shook her arms, but a year of practice had prepared her for it. The shot raced toward the incoming specter. It hit the man's shoulder, leaving a gaping wound in his flesh. The Box Ghost was undeterred however, his red eyes glowing with blood lust.

Pink energy collected in the stout ghost's hands and Danny's eyes widened as the man threw it at Sam. Without thinking, he conjured a wall in front of the window just as the girl ducked out of the way. The bomb exploded against the shield but didn't penetrate the defense. Power running through his veins, the halfa let ectoplasmic energy gather at his fingertips. The was a screech of wheels against pavement, but the boy didn't look to see if his parents had finally shown up. The energy in his hands glowed a green-white and beads of sweat appeared on his skin from the heat. With a mighty battle cry, the teen released the attack at the charging specter.

The resulting explosion shoved him back into the wall and the structure of the wood buildings on the street creaked in protest. The Box Ghost landed in a crater on the road, body mangled and covered in green blood. He pulled himself up into a siting position and glared at the town's hero. "Beware." A beam of blue light shot out and engulfed the hurt ghost, sucking him into the thermos. Sam leaned back out the window and frowned.

"How'd you do that?" When she got no answer, she glanced at her boyfriend in worry. He floated next to the building, staring in wonder at his still-smoking hands. "Danny?" The boy glanced up at her, green eyes wide in wonder. Shaking his head, Danny opened his mouth to speak.

"Danny! Sam! Get down here quick! We found Jazz!" The two teens forgot their conversation and stared down at Maddie who was motioning for them to come down with the thermos. Careful not to overwork any of his injuries, Danny held Sam and descended to the sidewalk with his mother.

"Really? Where is she? Is she alright?" He glanced over her shoulder to the RV where his father sat in the front seat with an anxious expression. No sign of Jazz.

"We just got the call. She's at the hospital."


	6. Deadly Game

Man! I haven't updated anything in forever. I can not apologize enough. Thank you to everyone you decided to stick through my random writer's block and continue to read this. Hopefully updates will be faster once school ends this Wednesday. **Also, I'm going to say right now that I have little to no medical training or knowledge so most of the stuff you'll see is a result of lots of research and artistic liscense. No yelling at me because of that.** Trust me, I did as much research as I could and think it works. Anyway, I've kept you waiting long enough. Enjoy!

Butch Hartman and Nick own it. I don't.

* * *

Ch 6:

Deadly Game

Danny was really starting to hate this place.

The bleak hospital lights cast dark shadows along the hallway that had the teen on edge the entire walk to his sister's room. Usually bustling with visitors, nurses, and doctors, the area seemed dead. No one wanted be awake this early on a Sunday morning. If it weren't for the worry and adrenaline keeping him awake, Danny would have joined the rest of the people of Amity Park hours ago.

The three Fentons and Sam tried not to run down the hallway to the last Fenton's room. The boy could hear Sam talking to someone on the phone behind him. Whoever it was obviously wasn't happy about being woken up at almost one in the morning. The goth didn't look ecstatic about it either from the dark frown on her face.

"Mr. Fenton. Mrs. Fenton." Danny turned to find Dr. Kelly standing in front of the door his family had been heading for. The man looked just as exhausted as the teen felt, but smiled as the group stopped to greet him.

"Dr. Kelly, is Jazz alright? What happened to her?" The doctor held up his hand to stop any more worried questions from Maddie.

"Jazz is fine. That's the problem." At the confused looks his statement had gained, the man sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Someone found her unconscious in her car just outside the city limits about an hour ago. She woke up for a few minutes not long ago. She doesn't know what happened to her, or should I say she doesn't remember. There's a gap in her memory that we haven't been able to explain yet.

"None of our tests seem to show any trauma or injury to her brain. Her blood shows no signs of drugs or other tampering. It's a complete mystery." The aging man seemed more distraught at this. A deep frown was distorting his features by the time he finished explaining. "She's sleeping right now. You can go in and see her if you want. I'd to keep her here for a day or two to see if we missed anything." The older Fentons nodded their understanding and agreement, looking disturbed by the news.

"Was there any sign of what could have happened to her?" Maddie bit her lip, her brain working on the newest problem that had presented itself. Dr. Kelly shook his head apologetically.

"I was hoping you could fill in that little bit." Heavy silence fell over the group and the doctor moved aside so the family and friend could enter the small room. Maddie and Jack instantly gathered around the bed holding their child. The teens entered more slowly. Danny almost felt his heart fully stop at the sight of his sister sleeping in the hospital bed. Jazz had always been in top physical and mental health. There had never been a need for her to go to the hospital.

A hand brought him out of his thoughts and the teen turned to find the doctor. "Come with me. I want to clean up your wounds first." The older Fentons were too busy looking over their daughter to pay attention to what was happening behind them, something Danny was grateful for. The doctor knew just as well as he did that his wounds would heal in a few hours and didn't need to be taken care. Sam seemed to have come to the same conclusion as him and had her no-nonsense face on.

"I'm coming too." Her voice left no room for argument and Danny hid a wince. He knew what it was like to have that pointed at him. That wasn't something he wanted to relive anytime soon. The man was powerless under the authority in the girl's voice and silently conceded.

The walk back to Dr. Kelly's office took longer than usual. By the time they were there, Danny was starting to feel the effects of the last few days. Without being told, he leapt onto the examination table while Sam leaned against the wall, watching everything with a critical eye. This had, after all, been her job long before Jazz or the doctor had gotten involved. The teen removed his shirt and let the greying man clean the already healing wounds on his shoulder and chest.

"What is it? What did you want to talk about?" A wry smile pulled at the man's lips as he finished cleaning the dried blood off the boy's skin.

"You do know that you are fifteen and shouldn't sound like an FBI agent right?" The teens' expressions didn't change at the joke, staying calm and serious. "I guess not." The doctor sighed. "Any luck finding with Ms. Grey's case?" This time the teens did respond, confusion written over their features.

"No. Why? Did you find anything else?" Danny tried to keep the hopeful note out of his voice. The dead look in the man's eyes killed whatever hope he had. "Why? What happened?"

"Valerie's gone. She disappeared." The black-haired teen couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open. His brain seemed to have stopped functioning as he stared blankly at the medic. Sam didn't seem to have that problem however.

"What do you mean she's disappeared? She wasn't in any condition to just leave, plus get out without anyone seeing her. Her dad hasn't left I'm guessing? Then there's only one way out of that room without.... him seeing her." The goth's voice trailed away to a whisper as the implications presented themselves. Dr. Kelly nodded.

"The window was broken. We're not sure if someone kidnaped her or she did it herself, but the former seems more likely, since as you put it, she wasn't in any condition to leave on her own. I was hoping you might have an idea of where she might be." The ghost fighters shook their heads. A frustrated grunt escaped the doctor's lips. "Alright. Then, I'm stumped you two. I don't know where to go from here."

"There wasn't anything in the blood tests?" The men looked at the girl leaning against the wall, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Yes. That's the problem." Sam and Danny exchanged confused glances at the cryptic sentence. "I found a phallotoxin in the sample from the syringe." When he noticed his audience was getting more confused, the doctor sighed. " Phallotoxins are amino acids. They are usually found in mushrooms, and are, for the most part, edible. I already checked, this type isn't deadly, the most it will do is upset your digestion. ON closer inspection, I found traces of the same type of phallotoxin in Ms. Grey's system."

"So the ghosts and Valerie are going on a rampage because they have indigestion?" The doubt in the halfa's voice made his opinion on that theory clear. "No offence Dr. Kelly, but I think they were suffering from more than an upset stomach. I don't know what's wrong with Valerie, but the ghosts didn't seem like they had stomach problems, they seemed like they had gone insane!" The teen frowned and subconsciously touched the scabs forming on his cheek. "It was like something had gotten into their head."

The doctor gasped so suddenly that both teens jumped, Danny immediately tensing for a blow. The man didn't notice as he shifted through the slides on his desk. Pulling two slides out, one holding blood and the other green ectoplasm, he took a piece of paper. He then took a few drops of a clear liquid and dropped them on the samples. "Uh? Dr. Kelly? What are you doing?"

"A Meixner test. I think I may know why everyone seems to have lost it! Let's hope that I'm wrong though." The man stepped back and set the slides aside to dry. "Phallotoxins have a very close cousin called the amatoxins The amatoxins are more deadly, but can only be detected with this test. They're one of the main toxins in mushrooms such as the Death Cap or Destroying Angel." The two teenaged ghost hunter paled at this.

"And you think that Valerie might have them in her blood?" Danny shivered, his fear for his friend increasing tenfold. "She's not going to die is she?" No one answered him and he felt his stomach flip. Sam placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, looking slightly green herself.

"I can't say for certain. Now that I know what I'm looking for, I can see if the poison is fatal." The medic quickly glanced at his watch and turned to check the slides. Danny and Sam turned to find that the samples had turned a light blue color. It was only thanks to Danny's quick reflexes that the aging man didn't hit his head as he fell. "I can't believe it. It's positive. Both of them. " The teens stared at each other.

"What?"

"Someone tried to kill Ms. Grey and the ghosts. It all makes sense now. Phallotoxins would slow down the liver so the amatoxins wouldn't be detoxified from the bloodstream. Amatoxins cause severe centrilobular necrosis. It would wear away the cells in her brain until she couldn't remember or reason. She'd be nothing more than an animal. The same goes for the ghosts if I'm correct." The man slowly got to his feet, the shock wearing off. Danny watched him warily. "Now, to see if they're the same toxin and if they were made by the same person."

"There's no need for that, doc. They were." All three people in the room pivoted to find whoever had spoken, Danny's eyes flashing green in the dim light.

The intruder couldn't be older than eighteen. He was tall and lanky with short, spiked black hair. Pale silver eyes seemed to glow as they predatorily watched the three. He was dressed in a ragged, black, tank-top with grey sweats.

Without any signal, Danny let the two rings of energy glide over his form and change his features. He heard the whir of a charging weapon as Sam pulled her gun from its holster. "Stay behind me," he ordered the doctor, who didn't argue as he followed the boy's command.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not here to fight you. No, I leave that for the lesser pieces." The boy lazily examined his nails, ignoring the potentially fatal attacks aimed at him. "I just came to congratulate you on finding out that much. You really are smarter than I was told. I thought you would be oblivious until it was too late. This way is so much more entertaining though." The halfa tensed and glared at the newcomer.

"Who are you? What are you talking about?" The older teen rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration.

"I take that back." He gave a mocking bow. "My name is Blaine, but that isn't important. And, I'm not going to make it that easy. That would take all the fun out of the game. I just came to give a," the teen tapped his lip in thought and glanced around the room, "a hint you could say. After all, the game's not all that fun if the second party doesn't know he's playing." A grin pulled at the intruder's lips.

"Enough with the jokes! I want answers! What did you do to Valerie and Jazz? What are you doing to the ghosts?" Ectoplasmic energy leapt to life around the boy's hands and cast an eerie green light on the walls. Blaine sighed again as if he was dealing with a stubborn child. It only furthered the anger and hostility the halfa felt toward the older teen. If he had something to do with what was happening, Danny wasn't about to let him get away without answering a few questions.

"So pushy! The good doctor just told you what we did to your friend and the ghosts. Their minds are currently being eaten away as we speak. Soon they won't be more than slobbering neanderthals whose only purpose is to destroy everything in their paths. It'd going to be so much fun! Woah!" The older teen had to hastily duck as Danny charged at him. "Now don't be like that. Getting yourself beat up isn't helping your cause. You'll need to be as healthy as possible if you want to even have a slim chance of surviving."

"Enough with the cryptic clues. Unless you want to get your butt fired, I suggest you start talking." All eyes turned to Sam as she leveled the readied weapon at the intruder. Blaine, obviously not intimidated by the gun aimed at him, laughed.

"Sorry, Princess, but that's not going to work. I..." The teen was cut off as a phone rang and he frowned as pulled the device from his pocket. "Oops. Looks like I gotta go." He turned to face Danny, who was glaring murderously at him and smirked. " Just remember, things aren't always as they seem. You have to look beneath the surface. Oh! And make sure you don't die to quickly. This is the most fun I've had in a while. It'd be a shame if it ended so soon. Ta Ta!"

"Wait!" Danny flew forward, arms outstretched to catch the intruder. His momentum carried him forward and collapsed on the ground as his target disappeared into thin air. Sam dropped her gun and hurried over to him, kneeling down to make sure he was alright. Dr. Kelly seemed stunned and starred at the spot Blaine had been.

There was a knock on the door, and a nurse entered, confusion written over his features. "Dr. Kelly? Is everything alright? I heard shouting and..." The nurse spotted the dazed teen on the ground and the stunned doctor. "Doctor?" The call broke the aging man out of his silence, and the doctor smiled slightly at the nurse.

"Sorry about that Anthony. Everything's under control here." Danny and Sam tried not to laugh at how grossly inaccurate that was. The information seemed to calm Anthony though and he nodded before leaving. The door clicked as it was closed and Dr. Kelly slumped against the examination table. Rubbing his palm over his eyes and sighed. "I'm too old to be dealing with stuff like this."

* * *

"So his name is Blaine. I don't think we've ever fought a ghost named Blaine." Tucker moved his cellphone into a more comfortable position between his ear and shoulder and continued to type rapidly at his computer. The database filled with everything the three teens had ever known about ghosts was flying by as the young mayor searched for the name. He tsked when the search came up blank.

"Danny doesn't think so either." The girl on the other line sighed in frustration. "I'm not even sure he was a ghost. He didn't have any of the usual signs and Danny said his ghost sense didn't go off. The only clue we have that he was a ghost is that he just kind of disappeared."

"Teleportation? That doesn't sound good." Tucker leaned back in his chair, careful not to make it groan and alert his parents to his early morning chat. "How's Jazz? Any better?"

"No. Dr. Kelly couldn't find any of that weird toxin in her bloodstream though so that's a good sign. We're just hoping she'll wake up soon." The African-American teen sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was starting to feel old again. "Danny and his parents decided to stay at the hospital for the night."

"So in other words, Danny's going to see if he can find any clues to all the mysteries we've got on our hands." An exasperated sigh from his friend was all the answer he needed. "I have a meeting with Carson in a few hours. I'll try and see if I can find out anything, though it's probably a lost cause. He's a hard man to crack. I'll call you guys if I do end up with something though."

"Yeah. Danny promised he'd do the... Tucker turn on the news." The sudden order surprised the young man and he frowned.

"Wha?"

"Just do it, Tucker!" The urgency in the goth's voice was all the incentive the tech geek needed. With a few quick finger strokes, the local television website was up and the boy was enlarging the current broadcast.

"This is Jessica Katz standing in for Tiffany Snow with the latest news on the attack. The authorities have arrived at the scene and begun the evacuation of the surrounding area." The screen switched from the blond newscaster to a shot near Amity Hall. Fires crackled as they slowly burned everything in their path, notwithstanding firefighters' attempts to put them out. Buildings crumbled and rubble strewn across the ground. Tucker felt his stomach flip when he spotted the immobile bodies splayed on the sidewalks and road. "As you can see, the damage so far is significant. We have ten confirmed casualties and estimate another twenty. Citizens in the area are advised to leave their homes and find shelter until given further notice."

The woman paused to hold her hand to her ear, listening to whatever was being said through the microphone. Seconds passed and Tucker found his hands involuntarily curling into fists on his keyboard. A frustrated growl from his still active call with Sam was the only sound in the room. "What!" The shocked scream from the blond reporter made the young mayor cringe. So much for not waking up his parents. He dismissed the fear of punishment in order to focus on what the reporter was saying. "... just got confirmation on the attacker. Police and eyewitness have reported that the Red Hunter is now attacking Amity Hall. The police have raised the alarm and warn all citizens to stay away from the Hunter. There has been no confirmation on what has started the attack but authorities..." The boy closed the window and leaned back into his chair, ignoring the loud groan the furniture gave in protest. Raking his fingers through his short , black hair, he sighed and picked up his dropped phone.

"Sam?" There was a grunt from the other line.

"I'll go tell Danny. We'll meet you there in ten minutes."

"Maybe, it's not her. Are you sure it's not just some ghost that looks like Valerie?"The silence from his friend told him what he already knew. "Alright. I'll see you too there." He threw on a sweatshirt and was sprinting down the stairs just as his parents demanded to know what was going on.


	7. Keep Your Enemies Closer

Not much to say except: sorry for the wait, don't ask about the first bit... it's random , the next chapter should be coming in the next week or so since it was originally a part of this chapter but was getting too long for my tastes, and enjoy!

Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon own Danny Phantom and all its characters etc.

* * *

Ch. 7: Keep Your Enemies Closer

The day hadn't been going well for Sergeant Mike Hallam. First, he had been late to work and gotten stuck with cold coffee and a half-eaten doughnut. His desk had been buried under stacks of paper that took most of the day to finish. The long-awaited lead on a supposed drug dealer had been false and left him and his partner sitting in a car for an hour with nothing to do. Then to make matters worse, the office had been getting more and more calls about ghost sightings. Now, he was trapped in the city hall with about a dozen other officers armed with nothing more than a few handguns by a teenage ghost hunter turned maniacal terrorist.

"Sir?" The man was broken out of his pessimistic thoughts by a younger officer. Officer Tabor was new to the squad, a twenty-one year old with a good heart and a naive view of the world. His brown eyes were questioning, but fear was evident under the mask of calm the boy had taken up.

"What is it, Tabor? News from the outside yet?" The young man shook his head and Hallam raked calloused fingers through dirty-blond hair with a sigh. "Alright then. Tell everyone to report to me if there's a change in the situation. We don't want anymore surprises." The officer nodded and scurried off the relay the message. The squad had been broken up into pairs with each pair at a strategic point in the building. Sergeant Hallam had no idea what had caused the Red Hunter to turn against the city or why her attacks seemed to be so erratic and unfocused, completely different than her usual style; almost as if she was going after anything that moved, and he had a feeling he didn't want to know.

Another explosion rocked the building, and Hallam leaned against the wall, trying to see out the window without being spotted. The attack on city hall had only started ten minutes ago, but already he could see pieces of the building scattered across the street. He grit his teeth in anger. This was his town, his home. He wasn't going to let some lunatic destroy it. He just wished he had more than a few bullets and a handgun.

The black and red hover-board flew past the window at a speed that made the man nauseous just thinking about it. Highschool physics had taught him just what could happen to a body at those speed and it wasn't pretty. Gunfire broke out and people began yelling, but Hallam was unable to tell if it was from outside or inside the building. He prayed to whatever god was watching him that it was outside.

His luck didn't hold however, and his day went from bad to worse.

The windows exploded down the hall, the sound of glass shattering against the clean marble floor oddly beautiful. The two men posted there were down, sprawled on the floor. There was another red blast and the wall exploded inward, scattering the walls innards across the hall. Gunfire joined the other noises as more officers came to help their comrades. A red laser stopped them in their tracks and they were forced to dive for cover.

The curvy ghost-hunter hovered into the hole she had created, her figure silhouetted against the flames burning in the background. "Freeze!" Before Sergeant Hallam could even think, his voice was resounding on the cold stone and his gun was leveled at the attacker. The girl paused to face him, her expression hidden beneath the visor of her helmet. There were several tense seconds as the girl seemed to debate which person to attack first. The decision was made for her.

"Stop!" The gunshot rang out in the near silence and Hallam saw the girl jerk from the impact. All eyes turned toward young Tabor, gun raised and hands shaking. A menacing growl of rage came from the Hunter and the blond was unable to do anything as the a gun seemed to pull itself from the girl's wrist and fired, the red beam of light catching the young officer in the chest and slamming him into the wall at the end of the hall.

"Tabor!" Several shouts of surprise and anger came from the quickly growing group of police. Hallam did a quick headcount: two injured by the corner, Tabor at the end of the hallway, and five others including himself. He didn't know where the other three were, but he hoped they were coming. The small gun in his hand felt incredibly inadequate compared the arsenal of ghostly weapons the teenager had. With a quick jerk of his chin, he told the others to fall back. They needed to get the injured out of here. He saw nods from the other men and raced forward, firing his gun as a distraction. This time, the Hunter was ready for it and smoothly dodged around the bullets.

The distraction worked however. The sergeant was able to run down to the two injured men and, with the assistance of another officer, was able to drag them farther into the depths of city hall. The rest of his squad waited for them in an inner room before closing the door. The lock clicked just as the doors hitched and shook from the Red Hunter's latest attack. They were thick but wouldn't hold long. "We need to find somewhere we can use as a stronghold. Someone find out where Marks, Herver, and Wong are. I don't want any MIAs." The officers shifted as someone called over the radio to their missing teammates.

While a pair went off to find a good place to fortify, Hallam bent over the wounded Tabor, worry evident on his face. Blood was slowly covering the front of the boy's uniform and his wide eyes were glazed over in pain. "You alright there, kid?" Failing to hide a wince, the younger officer nodded and smiled.

"It's just a flesh wound and a nasty headache, Sergeant. I'll be alright." Not in the mood to argue with the boy, Hallam made sure the Hunter wasn't about to break down the door. They only had a few minutes at the most. A heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders when his men returned.

"Sir. The hallway behind us leads to the mayor's office. The windows are big enough that we might be able to break them and escape, but..." The man chewed on his lip. "There are civilians, sir. Five of them." Hallam cursed and raked his fingers through his hair. At this rate, he would rip all his hair out.

"Fine. It seems that's our only option. Any word on our MIAs?" He got a negative answer and felt his heart sink. There wasn't time to go luck for the stragglers. "C'mon. Radio in to the Captain about our plans. He might be able to give us some cover." The walk to the office was difficult with two unconscious men and Tabor barely able to support his own weight. A quick glance behind the squad confirmed that the deranged teenager was still trying to break down the doors. Looks like city hall was made of tougher stuff than he had thought.

"Hello?" The leader of the group looked up from the ground, surprised to hear a woman's voice. The woman was thin and scholarly, maybe in her early thirties. Bronze hair was pulled into a tight bun, but strands had fallen out of the style and hung around her surprisingly calm face. The way she carried herself spoke of importance and experience. Hallam smiled. At least he wasn't dealing with an amateur. "Oh!" Her face whitened at the sight of the injured men and she rushed forward to help. "What's happening? We heard explosions, but..."

"The Red Hunter has attacked Amity and is currently inside the building. We need a way to escape or somewhere we can barricade ourselves in until backup arrives." The woman nodded and motioned toward the room behind her. They entered the office and the sudden change from the dark hallways to the lit room was debilitating.

"Your officers already explained that the mayor's office is the best place to try and escape. I have to agree." The police squad filed into the room and Hallam noticed four scared workers sitting on the couches. They instantly jumped up and set to work to accommodate the injured. The man found it odd that he wasn't surprised by the action. In this town, even the politics were affected by ghost attacks it seemed.

"Thank you..."

"Katherine Webb. And you?"

"Sergeant Mike Hallam." The woman nodded and began to help the others. The sergeant quickly strode over to the wall of windows behind the mayor's desk. They weren't as thin as he had hoped, but maybe a few well-aimed rounds and a heavy object would create a hole big enough to escape through. A ledge they could get down to without any trouble would save them from a very painful two-story fall. He was taking aim when he heard the unmistakable sound of wood breaking. She had gotten through the first barricade. One woman of the group whimpered in fear and stepped back from the door.

"We need to get out of here, Sergeant. Whatever you have in mind. I suggest you do it quickly." The calm voice of the brunette seemed to wipe away the fear in the room. Four shots rang out and the glass fractured. With the help of another officer, Hallam hefted up a chair and tossed it through the broken glass. It shattered and fell to the ground like a waterfall. The Hunter must have heard her prey escaping and the pounding on the door increased. A scream from behind and the smell of burnt wood was all the sergeant needed to know that their time was up.

The door to the office slid open and the girl stood outside the room, several guns ready to shoot.

"Get down!"

"Hit the deck!" The second cry echoed along with Hallam's and as he landed on the glass-littered ground he saw the a black blur slam into the deranged teenager, her shots hitting the ceiling as she was thrown back.

"Danny!"

"I got her! Just make sure everyone else gets out!" The man was surprised to hear younger voices calling over the noise of the fight. He was even more surprised when Mayor Foley charged into the room, his gothic friend in tow. Sea-foam-green eyes surveyed the room with an expertise earned from constantly being a target. The biggest shock came from the stick of lipstick the boy was holding as if it were a bazooka.

"Everyone alright?" The five civilians nodded while the gathered police just stared in shock. "C'mon! We need to get everyone out of here now." Tucker sent a half-hearted glare at the police when they continued to gape in confusion. Hallam took matters into his own hands.

"You heard him! Get the wounded out first." With direct orders from their leader, the officers jumped into action. Hallam made sure the first unconscious man was safely out the window before turning to confront the two teens. "How'd you two get in here?" The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You do know that this place is riddled with holes right? It wasn't exactly hard." A loud bang from the hallway made everyone wince. The yougn mayor motioned for the goth to leave with an easy smile.

"Go ahead. Make sure he isn't getting his butt kicked." He said it jokingly, but the goth's expression only hardened. "I've got things handled here." With a nod, the girl repositioned her hold on the gun she carried and ran from the room.

"Mayor Foley? What is going on?" The tech geek blinked owlishly at the formal name and frowned. Sergeant Hallam shook his head and corrected himself. "Why is the Red Hunter attacking the city?" The teen chewed his lip nervously, unsure how much information to give.

"She's not herself. Someone messed with her head and now she's lost control." He grimaced as he finished his hurried explanation. "Now, you need to get out of here. This fight isn't going to be pretty." Something inside of Hallam protested the idea of leaving a teenager and his mayor alone with a rampaging ghost hunter. His feelings were voiced before he had a chance to open his mouth though.

"What about you, Sir?" Both males turned to find Katherine by the window, waiting for them to evacuate. Tucker flinched under her stern gaze.

"I'm staying here. Danny'll need my help. We know what we're doing. Don't worry. Oh!" The African-American boy's call stopped the two adults. "Mind keeping the Guys in White from interfering for me? This situation is already messed up enough without their 'help'." Katherine nodded and she and the sergeant watched as Tucker turned and raced the help his friends.

------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------

To say the fight wasn't pretty was probably the biggest understatement of the year.

While Danny and Sam were pulling their punches, Valerie had no problem going all out. It didn't help that Danny was hardly up to par. His partially healed injuries from the earlier fights with Skulker and the Box Ghost had started to act up and the weekend's stress and lack of sleep was starting to take its toll.

Danny felt pieces of glass embed themselves in his skin as a shot sent him sprawling across the smooth floor. Shaking off the daze of pain, the halfa pushed himself up just in time to see Sam take aim and fire.

The fight was turning out to be harder than he had anticipated, which hadn't been easy in the first place. He knew that Valerie was good. She had shown that she could hold her own during their past fights and recent sparring sessions, but this was a completely different game. Gone were her strategic and expertly-aimed attacks. Her movements were wild and desperate, almost as if she were fighting for her life. The last few years of fighting with her meant nothing now. She was a completely different fighter and he would have to learn how to fight her all over again.

The boy was pulled from his thoughts in order to dodge an array of shuriken-shaped weapons sent his way. Danny threw twin ectoplasmic blasts at the huntress as his momentum turned him in a flip. Two more orbs were ready and pulsing in his hands when he landed. He waited until Sam was ready and released them just in time to combine with the girl's shot.

The Red Hunter disappeared in the resulting smoke and the couple regrouped. "Remind me to give Technus an extra beating for making that suit. Nothing seems to even phase her!"Valerie had apparently recovered as a missile plowed through the smoke. Grabbing Sam's arm and pulling her to his side, Danny quickly threw up a shield, the missile's explosion jarring his outstretched arm. Sam barely waited for the shield to fade before opening fire.

Valerie grunted as Sam's shot hit her in the shoulder, making her jet sled jerk to the side as she momentarily lost control. The jolt didn't stop the girl from firing off a round of charges however and Danny and Sam were forced to dive for cover. The room exploded in a flash of light and heat before a sudden stillness blanketed the area. A quick glance confirmed that Sam was unhurt as the halfa phased through the desk he had hidden behind. The huntress was ready and waiting though, gun aimed right for his heart.

His body moving primarily on instinct; he threw an energy orb at the girl. The attack connected with the gun just in time to divert the blast to the ceiling. Valerie screeched in anger as the weaken structure cracked and wooden beams came crashing down on her. "Valerie!" Fear for his friend gave him the speed he needed to barrel into the girl, pushing both of them out of the way from the collapsing ceiling.

The two teens hit the smooth tiled floor and their momentum kept them tumbling, the huntress's jet sled disappearing to prevent increasing the damage. Hissing as his wounds protested the abuse, the boy turned to find the Red Hunter laying beside him, not moving. "Danny? Danny!" Sam's frantic voice reached through the fuzziness that had started to cloud his mind. "Danny, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Sam. We made it out before it collapsed. I think Valerie's unconscious. She's..."Danny swallowed to get rid of the lump forming in his throat, "She's not moving." The sound of footsteps and creaking wood brought the halfa's attention away from the still girl beside him. "Sam?" Despite the situation, his voice took on an exasperated tone. "Sam, what are you doing?"

"Hold on. I think I can get over there." He could hear her boots scraping against the fallen support beams and her grunts of strain as she pulled herself through the maze of broken beams and other ceiling innards.

"Wait, Sam. It might not be safe. Just give me a second and I'll...Ugh!" Danny threw himself backward as Valerie sprung to life, ectoplasmic knife held in her hand. Glowing, green blood dripped from the end and the halfa gently put his hand to his stinging cheek. His glove came away green, the liquid already oozing down his neck. The old three scratches added to the flow where the fresh cut intersected them. The boy didn't have time to worry about the strange, slow-healing wounds though as Valerie came at him again with the knife.

Rolling onto his back to avoid a jab, the teen pushed off the ground and leapt into the air. "Danny! Danny, what's happening?" Sam's worried shouts could barely be heard over the huntress's wild shriek. It didn't take long for the jet sled to re-materialize and the Hunter to return to the air with her prey. She seemed satisfied to ignore her other weapons in lieu of the knife, her mind solely focused on killing the Ghost Boy. A wry smile threatened to split Danny's face despite the situation. Just like old times. Except this wasn't the old Valerie. This was a whole new, deadlier opponent.

The knife came close again and he was forced to go intangible in order to keep from being literally stabbed in the back. Twisting around, he slammed his foot into her stomach, sending her crashing into the far wall. The hit seemed to have winded her and she doubled over. A series of ectoplasmic blasts pinned her to wall, but her armor held out. She retaliated with her own barrage of shots, the wild fire grazing him when he wasn't fast enough to dodge them all.

Ectoplasmic metal gleamed in the dim light and Danny ducked beneath the horizontal swipe. Reaching above his head, he grabbed onto the hand holding the weapon and twisted. Valerie's fingers snapped open under the pressure and the knife feel to the ground. The satisfaction of getting rid of the object lasted for all of three second before an armor enclosed knee connected sharply with his temple. Black spots threatened to completely blur his vision as his neck snapped back with the force and his back hit the ground. It was too late to move when the white noise faded and he heard the charging gun.

Fire engulfed his stomach and he curled into a ball on reflex. His abdominal muscles screamed as the initial shock dissipated and the angry, red wound in his gut burned. He cursed vehemently as the huntress took aim again. Forcing his body to forget the pain, he rolled out of the way as the gun fired and was showered by broken tile. "Danny!" The new voice made Valerie hesitate long enough for Tucker to take aim and shoot.

The halfa winced as the girl yelped in pain, the shot sending her reeling. Whatever his mom had packed into that tube of lipstick, he really hoped he was never on the receiving end. A quick ectoplasmic blast made sure that the young mayor had enough time to find cover. However, Tucker had other plans and ran to his friend. "Man! You look like hell. I guess she isn't exactly happy." The glare the half-ghost sent his friend clearly said how much of understatement that was. The African-American merely shrugged and knelt to help Danny to his feet. "Think you can manage?" It took a moment too long for the halfa to answer for Tucker's tastes.

"Yeah. It looks worse than it feels." The twitch of his mouth was more a grimace than a comforting smile. A gun discharged and both boys tensed, turning to find Valerie sprawled on the floor. Two pairs of eyes roved over the room until they landed on Sam, partly extracted from the pile of ceiling debris and ecto-gun aimed at the Red Hunter. The look she gave them sent shivers running down their spines.

"You're both useless. If I hadn't kicked through on time, you'd both be splats on the floor right now." She pulled herself completely from the pile and jumped down to the ground, mocking grin on her face. "It seems even her armor has a limit." She joined the boys, looking at Danny worriedly. "You alright?" He nodded slowly and looked at the girl at their feet. Tucker relinquished Danny over to Sam (funny how he didn't remember ever starting to lean on the young mayor) and knelt down to inspect the huntress.

With a yelp, the tech-geek scrambled away from the girl. On instinct, Danny reached out and placed a hand on Tucker and Sam's shoulders, ready to turn them intangible should Valerie be faking it like she was the last time. It was a moment before she shifted and moved her head to get a better view of them. Dull green eyes stared out from under the visor, pain and weariness the only sign that she was there. "Val? Is that you?"

Her whole body shook and she growled at him, her arm trying to move toward her belt only to flop back down when the effort proved too much for her. "I... I didn't think I had hit her that hard. I didn't mean to ...." Sam stuttered, watching the weak movements. Danny gently squeezed her hand.

"You probably didn't do anything more than we did. It must be the poison again. They said she didn't have enough energy to stay awake for more than a few minutes. The fight must have finally taken its toll on her." Danny nodded at Tucker's sound logic, trying to keep the fear off his face.

"We need to get her back to the hospital. Now." He bent to pick her up when his wounds reminded him why he shouldn't be moving more than needed for a day or so. His friends must have noticed and he was stopped by a gentle, but firm hand on his forearm. He glanced up to see the two frowning. It was Sam that spoke.

"_We_ will. _You_ can rest. It's been nothing but nonstop fighting for you this entire weekend. Don't push yourself. I'll get an ambulance to come pick us up." Sam pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly dialed 911, not waiting for him to answer. He just sighed and shook his head. Now was not the time to test the goth's stubbornness.

Valerie's struggles had calmed down and she had remained silent. The soft click of Sam closing her phone made everyone jump, the sound breaking through the death-like silence that had fallen over the building. "They're on their way. They should be here in ten minutes. Think she'll be okay until then?" The boys shrugged, each frowning deeply.

"We don't have much choi..."

"Freeze! Don't move!"


	8. Corruption

Ch.8: Corruption

"Freeze! Don't move!" The teens turned to find a team of five Guys in White stalking into the room, guns held at the ready. Identical glares marred the teens' faces as they watched the men move into the room.

"What are you guys doing here? Can't you mind your own business for once," Tucker spat out at them. The apparent leader of the team, a burly man with black hair sprinkled with grey, stepped forward and frowned condescendingly at the trio.

"This is our business. As soon as you refused to properly deal with the ghost infestation and use vigilantes it became our business. Now step down and let my men do their jobs. That girl is a danger to the entire city. We have been ordered to take her into custody."

"What?!" Despite his injuries, Danny stood up from his crouch and moved between the man and Valerie defensively. "She's hurt! She needs to go the hospital!" The halfa felt his eyes burn as they flashed with power and he fought to control his power, more than willingly to come to his need and stop the man. To his amusement, the leader faltered for a moment before the cool, superiority mask was back.

"That is not my concern. My job is to bring the Red Hunter to headquarters immediately. Now move, boy, before I'm forced to arrest you too for hindering a federal investigation." The man sneered and Danny replied in kind. Before the halfa could retort, Tucker motioned for him to be silent. His mouth closed with a snap, but he continued to glare at the leader.

"I'm Tucker Foley, Mayor of Amity Park. You have no jurisdiction here. I made that clear to Carson last time he tried something like this. Now move before I have you arrested for letting a girl die because you were too busy trying to look like more than a total waste of tax dollars." The man's face turned red in fury and embarrassment, his fists clenching at his sides. It took a minute for him to compose himself.

"In fact, _Mayor_ Foley, we do have the jurisdiction. Apparently, someone higher up on the political ladder than you thought you weren't doing a good job and gave us free reign. Now move, before I have all three of you arrested." A crinkled piece of paper from his breast pocket authenticated his claim. The glaring match between the three teens and the GiW leader threw the room into silence. It was only when Tucker finally looked away that the man smiled. "Good boy." He motioned for his men to restrain Valerie with a nod of him head.

Valerie wasn't as accepting of their presence as she had been of the trio's. Maybe some of her hate for the feds had gotten through the haze in her mind, maybe it was because she didn't want to touched, or maybe she had suddenly found the energy, but as soon one of the men touched her arm, she lashed out and slammed her elbow into the man's nose. Everything in the room seemed to freeze as everyone stared at the fallen officer. The huntress didn't let it stay like that however.

As soon as she made sure her first victim wasn't getting up, she moved on to the next closest. He lasted no more than ten seconds before joining his partner in a heap on the floor. The third was ready this time, ecto-gun blazing to keep the girl out of arm's length. Valerie wasn't a black belt for nothing and simply slipped under the man's defense to land a crushing blow to his gut. He doubled over and she punched his exposed nape. He collapsed with a grunt.

Gulping for air, the Red Hunter turned to finish off the leader. The burly man had obviously had more training than his subordinates though. He calmly blocked her punch and swiped her feet out from underneath her. The teen crashed to the ground with a yelp. She somehow managed to get back to her feet before the gun aimed at her head discharged.

Her jet sled reappeared and she took to the air, warily watching the leader. A gun extracted itself from her wrist and fired. The blast hit the ground near the man's feet and sent shards of tile into the air. Danny quickly turned the group intangible as the man threw an arm up to protect his face. The engines on Valerie's sled revved and she smashed through the window.

Cursing, the only conscious Guys in White agent took off after her, shooting away any remaining glass in the frame. Tucker pulled away from Danny and ran to the window, lipstick blaster held in preparation. He frowned as he watched the man roll as he hit the ground two stories below and chase after the rogue huntress. "Man! Since when did the Guys in White start to be good?"

It wasn't long before the other two joined him. "C'mon." Danny took one of each of his friends' hands and lifted them into the air, through the window, and to the ground. As his feet landed on the grass, he stumbled, legs giving out in him. Sam quickly caught him before he hit the dirt and hurt himself even more. Tucker quickly looked him over before sighing.

"Sam, you stay here with him. I'll go make sure they don't hurt Valerie." The goth nodded, surprisingly compliant about being left out. Danny had other thoughts though.

"What? I'm not staying here! Val's sick and if the Idiots in White get their claws on her..." He chose not to finish his prediction, but it wasn't needed. They both knew what the stakes were.

"And you're too injured to do anything! We handled things just fine while you were gone. You have to thrust us to help too. You're not the only ghost hunter in this town." Sam's glare left little room for argument. "Go ahead, Tucker. I'll send help when I can." The mayor nodded and took off. Sam looped her arm around her boyfriend's waist and his arm over her shoulder and silently led him in the opposite direction. "Let's go."

Danny limped over to the police line and let his transformation fade. Several of the bystanders gasped in surprise at his injuries and the buzz of a whispering crowd overwhelmed him. Sam guided him toward one of the emergency vehicles and the small camp they had set up parked on the rode and relinquished care over to the paramedics, though she was never more than a few feet away.

Extreme weariness washed over the boy as his injuries were cleaned and bandaged. It took all his self-control to not pass out right there and then. Sam would kill him if he scared her like that. Still, there was faint hum of energy in his body that, no matter how tired and beaten he felt, craved to be out there in the fight. The halfa frowned at the feeling. It was probably just because two of his closest friends were out there and most likely fighting each other again.

He was pulled from his thoughts as a nurse dabbed a little too hard at the fresh and old cuts on his cheek. He withdrew in pain and the poor girl looked scared for her life. Sam was next to him in an instant and quickly ushered the girl and her apologies away. "You okay?" At his blatant look, she rolled her eyes. "Well obviously not physically. Anyone with half a brain could tell that's a big fat 'no'. It's just not like you to space out like that."

Danny blinked owlishly. He didn't remember spacing out. After fighting ghosts for so long, he never let himself completely inattentive to his surroundings. He smiled abashedly at her and nodded. "Yeah. I guess I'm more tired than I had thought." Her intelligent eyes hovered over him for a moment longer than he felt comfortable before she sighed and started where the nurse had left off.

* * *

It wasn't hard fro Tucker to find out which way Valerie had gone. The terrified screams and explosions were just as useful as even the most high tech tracking device.

The Red Hunter and the Guys in White agent had be-lined right into the steadily growing crowd by the police boundary. As he rushed into the frantic mob, the mayor couldn't help but notice how much trouble the police were having in controlling the group. What order was restored was quickly dashed as the fighting continued. People dove out of the way as a missile careened off course and detonated on the road. Tucker held up an arm to protect his face from the heat and debris, desperately wishing he had brought along more than a small, lipstick-impersonating ecto-gun.

Engines screamed overhead and Valerie swooped down over the crowd. Several shots, and mix of bullets and condensed ectoplasm, bombarded the huntress. She swerved around them and returned fire, first to the cops than at the group of white suits. Anger burned in the tech-geek as he recognized Carson among his men. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to not storm over to the man and start a screaming match. It would have to wait until the current crisis was solved.

Tucker aimed and fired, catching the huntress's side before she attacked a groups of bystanders. She turned on him angrily and he was forced to dodged behind a garbage can to keep from resembling swiss cheese. The teen peaked out from behind his cover just in time to see one of the agents toss a grenade at the girl. It exploded mid-air, knocking Valerie from the air. The few citizens that had been watching scattered as they saw the explosion.

The Guys in White wasted no time before moving in to capture the Red Hunter. However, even in her weakened state, the teen was faster than them and was aiming a gun at the closest man's head. The shot rang though the air and the agent fell. Tucker forcibly tore his eyes off of the body and onto the fight, his stomach already rumbling ominously. The rest of the feds ran past him, each using their own ecto-gun in retaliation. Valerie howled in pain as several shots hit their mark, her armor chipping away as it weakened. The ectoplasmic knife was back out and slashing ferociously at the coming men.

* * *

The ambulance was suddenly too crowded. A flood of people had steadily been coming to the vehicle and the hastily assembled tents since he had arrived – a mixture of cops, firefighters, and citizens who had gotten a little too close to the action, but suddenly, their presence was too much for him. He was grateful when he had to give up his chair so the doctors could tend to a new patient. It wasn't hard to disappear into the crowd after that.

Sam had gone with a group of police, much to their chagrin, to find any stragglers in the area and left him with a dangerous glare that promised unknown levels of pain if he didn't stay put until she got back. Usually that glare alone was enough to scare him into submission, but tonight was different. Tonight, something in his gut called him away from safety and into the fight.

He cursed as his form refused to change and thus was stuck on the ground. His wounds pricked at is consciousness, but he was finding it easier to ignore them. Worn sneakers slammed into the asphalt as his trained eyes spotted the white suits, almost glowing in the near-dawn light. As he got closer, he could make out red stains on the men's suits and two more men unmoving on the ground. Adrenaline pumped through his body at the sight of the blood. He had to stop Valerie.

The Red Hunter fought with two of the remaining agents, the third standing apart and readying a weapon. One of her opponents cried out as she twisted his arm and the bone snapped with a gut-wrenching crack, her knife dipping into his shoulder. He fell to his knees, moaning in pain, as his partner landed a kick in the girl's side. She hissed in pain and backed away from the man. "Enough, Leeman!" Carson's shout drew everyone's gaze. Leeman backed off as his superior hefted the large gun and aimed it at Valerie. Danny didn't know what it did, but it couldn't be beneficial to Valerie's failing health.

"No!" The halfa heard another voice join his and his mind easily identified it as Tucker. Carson didn't listen and the weapon discharged, a bright display of flashing colors and a loud roar. The beam hit the huntress square in the chest and she screamed, pain an anguish overflowing her voice. "Stop it!" The energy dissipated and the girl dropped to the ground, her limbs limp. Danny started toward her, but Leeman stepped in front of him and restrained him. With his strength near depleted, the teen could do no more than struggle in the man's crushing grip. The gun charged again.

"Carson! Stop it! You'll kill her!" Tucker had come out from his cover and was moving toward the fallen girl.

"I think you'll find not many will care after what she's done." The gun continued to whir and Danny tried helplessly to get loose. "Say good-bye to your friend, Mayor Foley." Tucker tried to get to Valerie, but the muzzle of the weapon was already glowing and Carson pulled the trigger.

Power rushed through Danny. His captor released him as he elbowed his gut and broke his hold. The yards between him and Carson were crossed in milliseconds and his gloved hand grabbed the barrel and crushed it. The blast exploded when it found no other escape route. Carson stumbled backward, shaking his burnt hands. Danny leapt at him like a tiger, his hands closing around the man's throat. With the ease of picking up a ragdoll, the halfa lifted the agent off his feet. Carson sputtered and clawed at the teen's crushing hands. His struggled were futile and he was soon losing strength.

"Danny! Danny, stop it! You're killing him!" Tucker's cries barely met him and when the other boy tried to approach, the halfa shot him away with a ectoplasmic blast. A weak smile crossed his features. He was powerful, more than anyone. Carson's life was in his hands and with a flick of his wrist, he could end that miserable existence.

"_Stop! This is not who you are. Fight it before you do something you will regret for the rest of your life. Stop!_" The disembodied voice jolted him out of his trance and his fingers loosened instantly, Carson dropping tot he ground. The man coughed and wheezed, scrambling away from the teen with wide eyes. He went unnoticed as Danny stared at his hands.

"Danny?" His friend's voice was hesitant, fear and concern underlying his tone. Green eyes met sea-blue and Danny felt himself go numb.

"Tucker, I... I..." His energy suddenly vanished and the world went dark.


	9. Troubles

I live! Sorry for the wait. Life sucks that way. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

**

* * *

**

Ch. 9: Troubles

The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her room.

It was too cold, too dark, it smelled different, and the usual hum of machinery from the lab was replaced with a steady beeping. Groaning, she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. Drab green walls, small windows, TV set up in the corner and couches against the far wall. She had been in the hospital enough times to know where she was. She tried to push away the itchy blankets wrapped around her, but a pale hand from the shadows stopped her. "I would stay down if I were you."

The electrocardiogram spiked as she jumped in surprise, the cool voice sending shivers down her spine. Her guest smirked and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, the chill of his skin seeping in through the hospital robe she wore told her he wasn't human despite his normal appearance. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"My name doesn't matter and telling you my plan wouldn't help me in any way so.... I'm not going to tell you." The smug voice grated against her already sensitive nerves. She tried to pry herself out from under his hand but he held her fast. Her blue eyes flashed over to the call button on the side of the bed. It exploded before she could even move to touch it. Her gaze was brought back to her guest as he tsked. "Be a good girl and don't move, Jazz. I really don't want to hurt you."

"Then why are you here? Where's Danny? Where are my parents?" The stranger didn't answer and fear welled up in her. "What have you done with them?!"

"I haven't done anything to your family, at least not yet. I have some questions to ask you, and that will decide what happens to them." That damn smirk was back and Jazz struggled to break out of the boy's grasp.

"Leave them al..." The intruder's other hand lashed out and across her cheek as her voice rose to a scream. She was left gritting her teeth against the pain and praying someone would have heard her and was sending help. Her job had never been field work after the episode with Vlad. If it came down to it, she wouldn't be able to handle herself without some kind of weapon. She wasn't her mother.

The hand came back and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into the boy's pale eyes. "I suggest you don't do that. We wouldn't want anyone running into something they have no right being a part of. People tend to get hurt that way, don't they Jazz?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The stranger released her with a rough shove and stalked in front of her bed, anger rolling off him in waves so tangible the redhead shivered in fear. This man was deadly. "What do you want from me?!"

"I want to know why you were driving around the abandoned district! I want to know what you saw, what you heard!" He was in front of her again, face dangerously close to her own.

"What? I wasn't near there! I was at home. I..." The power infused hand punched a hole straight through the pillow and mattress near her head.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me. Tell me what you were doing down there!"

"I...I don't know! I was at home!" Despite herself, tears trickled form her eyes. She didn't know why she was at the hospital. She didn't know what had happened. She didn't know what he wanted. She didn't know! The complete confusion and hopelessness struck at her core and no amount of psychology classes could help contain the natural reaction to those feelings.

Her guest left her bedside again with a whispered scream of frustration and he continued his pacing at the foot of her bed. As she tried to push the covers back and wipe away her tears, he glared at her and she stopped moving. The savage animosity that had been directed at her made her stay were she was, too afraid to have that hostility directed at her again.

He stopped mid-step to stare at her, his mouth pulled into a grin. If she thought his silence was frightening, the man's laughter was worse. The chuckling didn't stop but it contained so little happiness that it reminded her of an asylum patient. "That little brat. Of course he would do that." He rounded the bed and held her head between two freezing palms.

It was a complete invasion of herself. One moment everything was fine, the next her mind was being torn apart at the intruder's will. Precious childhood memories and her deepest secrets were ripped to pieces and tossed aside as the foreign mind dug deeper into her. She felt warm liquid run down her nose and over her lip to drip onto the clean sheets. Her guest seemed to have found what he wanted and closed in on the dark memory. A voice was screaming and there were people running outside her room.

The door to the hallway burst open and a nurse and doctor rushed into the room. Jazz bolted up in her bed, tossing aside sheets to cradle her head between her legs. Blood gushed from her nose but it went unheeded. Fingers were prodding her and voices asking her questions but she ignored them. Couldn't they see her mind was being destroyed? Medicine was administered with a sharp prick and the pain slowly disappeared. She was left gasping for breath and covered in cold sweat.

"Are you alright, dear?" The doctor leaned over her, a sweet smile on her face. Jazz nodded numbly, trying to take in her surroundings. "Shhh. It was just a bad dream." The man was gone. The bed didn't have a hole in it and the call button was back. All signs of her visitor were gone except the feeling of his hands on her head and even that was fading with the pain. There was no way that had been a dream.

But she could remember.

The memory the intruder had gone after, had left in her mind as he hastily left, was fresh and vibrant in her mind. It was as if a shroud had been pulled away and everything left bare. The strange call, the little boy at the hotel, the Guys in White, then... her head throbbed as she tried to recollect what had happened. It was there, just under the surface. Either way, she needed to tell Danny and her parents.

"Are my parents here?" They were most likely to be in the building, especially if she was here. Also, keeping Danny in one place had been enough of a challenge before he got ghost powers and had only gotten worse after that. She would have better luck finding her parents and then contacting her brother through them. The doctor frowned, a sad look passing over her dark eyes.

"Yes. They are with Dr. Kelly." The obvious vagueness in her statement caught the psychologist- hopeful's attention.

"What's wrong?" The doctor seemed to be unable to decide whether or not to tell her, biting her lip in hesitation.

"Everything will be fine, but you're brother came in a few hours ago and..." The covers were thrown off before the woman could finish her explanation. The redhead bolted for the door, ignoring the calls for her to come back and rest and how she shouldn't be running around yet. Things obviously weren't fine if Danny had been with Dr. Kelly for a few hours. Her little brother couldn't stand to have his "patch-ups" last more than a few minutes and if her parents were worried enough to be down there....

"Danny!"

* * *

For once, his large bulk was being put to good use. After all, the door to Dr. Kelly's office-turned-lab was only so big.

"Mr. Fenton, please move aside. We're not here to cause trouble. We are only here to do our job." The SWAT officer was tired and obviously wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now, but he didn't care. There was no way he was letting them through this door.

"If you weren't going to do anything, you wouldn't be here. You can forget about hurting my son!" His loud voice boomed through the large halls and several people stopped to see what the commotion was about.

"My team and I were ordered to watch over the criminal known as Danny Phantom and make sure he doesn't threaten anyone else in this hospital. We have no intention of harming him. We're just following our orders." Jack's face flushed red in anger and he towered over the officer.

"My son isn't a criminal! He's hero. We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him. I'm not letting you hurt him!" The door swung open behind him and Dr. Kelly slipped out from behind the giant scientist. Somehow, his calm stature seemed more imposing than Jack's or the SWAT team's as he glared at all of them.

"Gentlemen, can we please keep it down? Our patients need as much rest as possible and you are all making that nearly impossible with your bickering." The doctor turned toward the SWAT team and glared at the leader. "Daniel is in no condition to sit up let alone cause any problems. I understand why you're here, but this is excessive. His mother has already agreed to let you in if the rest of your team stays out here. Will that work?" The leader nodded, but the doctor's stern gaze didn't leave him. "I promise if you do anything to ruin his condition even further, I will personally escort you off the premises." The team leader nodded after a moment of debate. Dr. Kelly nodded in agreement and turned to Jack. "Jack?" The large scientist took a moment before nodding, keeping his suspicious eyes on the SWAT men. The trio entered the room, blinking their eyes at the sudden darkness. "Please be quiet. He shouldn't wake up right now, but I don't want to chance it."

The usually clean office was littered with bandages and smelled strongly of blood and antiseptics. Maddie sat beside the examination table, tightly gripping her son's limp hand. Jack walked up to her and kissed her lightly on the head. She smiled wearily back up at him and grabbed his hand with her free one. "He hasn't woken up yet. Dr. Kelly says he just used up all his energy but..."

The orange-attired man nodded in understanding. Just the fact that the doctor had had to spend so long tending to his boy spoke more than anything else. He couldn't even remember the last time Danny had seriously needed to go to the hospital. Whatever change his ghost powers had made to his body, they had sped up Danny's natural healing by almost three-fold. But now, the rate had dropped back down to the average and that scared him more than anything. Something was wrong with his boy and he had no idea what to do to help him.

Maddie's lavender gaze zeroed in on the SWAT leader who had just slipped into the room. Jack silently squeezed her hand for comfort. The officer noticed the hostile gaze and nodded politely at her. "Thank you for allowing me in, ma'am. We aren't here to cause trouble, only prevent it." Maddie's eyes narrowed and Jack couldn't almost hear her thoughts. It seemed like overkill to send an entire SWAT team just to babysit after all. Trusting his wife to watch the federal agent, the man slid over to where Danny lay, his heart clenching at the sight of his son's broken body.

Jack was suddenly hit by how young and scrawny his son really was, two adjectives he hadn't used to describe his son since the big revealing. His clothing was torn and covered in dust and blood. It looked like he was ready for an Egyptian burial with the amount of bandages that covered him. From the skin that the doctor had yet to mend, cuts that ranged anywhere from just simple abrasions to deep gashes covered his bruised skin. Even his skin looked paler than usual, which was almost a feat in itself. Biting his lip to keep back tears, the large scientist gently rubbed his son's cheek, glaring at the bandage over the three cuts that had started it all.

Dr. Kelly moved next to him and began to work on the teen's unbandaged arm. The silent SWAT member stood by the door, watching the doctor work with trained eyes. Maddie leaned back in her seat and sighed heavily. "I talked to Tucker." Her voice broke the silence in the room and everyone looked toward her, but her eyes were on her son. "He said Danny wasn't himself, like he was possessed." Jack gripped her shoulder as she shivered. "But his powers should keep him from being overshadowed. None of this makes sense!"

"Maddie, it's been a long day. Why don't you go lay down? We'll tell you if anything happens." Dr. Kelly didn't look up from his work as he spoke calmly to the blue-clad woman. "You won't find the answer when you're so tired and stressed. Just go to the front desk and talk to the assistant there. She'll make sure you're comfortable. Alright? You've done all you can tonight." The Fenton matriarch looked like she wanted to argue, but exhaustion made her see the logic behind the man's words. She nodded and left with one last glance at her son and warning glare at the SWAT man. "You should go too, Jack."

"I'm not leaving Danny." The fierce whisper was so passionate and unmoving it ended the discussion. The overweight man's gaze returned to his son. "You don't have any idea why he attacked that man? He would never do that. Not Danny. Something has to be wrong with him!" The doctor looked up and sighed.

"I have some ideas, none of them good. I'll test them out later, after we've all had some sleep. We're not doing him any good wearing ourselves down. The best we can do is let him rest and hope he wakes up and pray that I'm wrong."

* * *

The investigator was doing his best to look intimidating but Sam had gone up against the evil king of ghosts and his army of undead warriors, some fat, grumpy cop wasn't going to scare her anytime soon. It didn't help that these stupid officers were keeping her from helping Danny. Tucker had hurriedly told her what had happened before he was dragged off for questioning. It was her turn and she refused to give them anything. Now, she was stuck in a glaring match with this stupid police officer.

"I told you. I don't know anything. Danny wouldn't do that."

"Well, he did. We're just trying to figure this out and the fastest way we can do that is by figuring out what happened. Now, has Mr. Fenton been acting strange lately?" The goth rolled her eyes. As opposed to what? He was a teen superhero with ghost powers. Was he supposed to act normal?

"No. Can I go now?" The officer didn't answer but shuffled through a stack of papers. He pulled a folder of photos of the scene out and showed them to her.

"Agent Carson's throat is severely bruised. Any more pressure and it would have caved in. No human has that kind of strength. The ground was also peppered with ectoplasmic burns. And from what the witnesses have told us, there is no question if it was Mr. Fenton or not. Now, were there any hostilities between Agent Carson and Mr. Fenton?"

"Tons. The Guys in White don't seem to understand that Danny isn't a lab rat or that he can do their job ten times better than they can. But then again, no one who lives in Amity doesn't have 'hostilities' toward the Guys. If you're looking for a motive, everyone in town has one." The teen smirked as the man winced. The unanimous hatred for the federal agents wasn't something to be proud about, but it was undeniable after all the trouble they had caused in the past.

"..." The flat glare she gave him stopped him in tracks.

"Look. Yes, Danny has superpowers. Yes, he beats ghosts to a pulp on a regular basis. Yes, he doesn't like the Guys in White. He doesn't hurt people though. That's why he's fighting! So people don't get hurt! Why would he hurt the people he's tried so hard to protect? Something happened out there. I don't know what it was, but Danny wasn't himself. I'm sure you got that out of Tucker already. That's all I have to say. If you're looking for evidence against him, you'll have to look somewhere else. As far as I'm concerned, this is just another attempt to make Danny look like the bad guy!" The poor man was almost cowering under her tirade, but she didn't care. Let him suffer for keeping her away from her boyfriend, especially when he needed her most. Maybe the harsh goth exterior had its uses after all. "Are we done?" With a sigh and a glance toward the one-way glass panel, he nodded.

"Very well, Ms. Manson. You're free to go. Expect us to keep in touch, though." The door buzzed to signal she could leave and she nodded.

"Of course." Tucker was waiting for her in the front lobby and jogged to catch up with her as she stomped down the front steps.

"That was quick."

"There wasn't anything for me to say. They wanted dirt on Danny to explain it and I couldn't give them anything worthwhile. I doubt they wanted to know that he's failing English or kept a secret stash of candy under the floorboards at camp. They were looking for serious skeletons." Tucker hummed in agreement, stretching out stiff muscles. "Any word from the Fentons?"

"His mom called a few minutes after I got out. She said that Dr. Kelly was patching him up and that he hasn't woken up yet. The government also sent a SWAT team to watch over him." He sighed in annoyance. "I'll have Katherine try and get rid of them, but it won't be easy. After what he did... This is bad, Sam. He just seemed to completely lose it. It was almost like..." The young mayor let the implication fall short. He didn't need to finish though. They both knew what an out-of-control Danny was like.

Sirens broke through their conversation and five police cruisers pulled out of the department and sped down the road. The teens shared a look before they took off after them.


	10. Complications

Sorry for the wait. End of senior year stuff kept me busy for a while. But I'm back and hopefully my inspiration will follow. Thanks for all the reviews! Enjoy!

I do not own DP

* * *

Chapter 10:

Complications

The tiny police scanner he had attached to his phone continued to hum with the smooth dispatcher's voice as Tucker ran in the direction the cruisers had gone. He would have to thank Katherine again for grabbing it for him when he first entered office. It had certainly proved its worth over the last few months, especially now.

"Old Hickory and Davin? Where's that," Sam asked as the device called out the street names. The young mayor was surprised she even had the breath left to talk. They must have run at least three miles already without stopping. There was no way she wasn't feeling the effects of the sprint. He sure was.

"I...I don't know. Old Hickory is sev...seven bl...blocks away. I've never heard of Davin." The goth let out a huff of frustration and picked up her speed. Tucker felt his lungs scream in agony. There was no way he was going to make it. Steeling his resolve against the pain and exhaustion, the boy followed his friend, despite every nerve in his body telling him to stop. Head bent in determination, the teen didn't see his friend stop until he slammed right into her.

They tumbled to the ground in a painful pile, both teens groaning. "Sam! Tell me next time before yo..." His admonishment trailed off as he noticed the reason why the girl had stopped. "Oh my god." What he thought had been the sunrise was actually the old part of Amity. Even from a few blocks away, the light it was giving off was dazzlingly. It would have been beautiful, the light blues, yellows, and reds of the sky with the orange glow, except that the glow was only there because half of the abandoned buildings in the district were currently engulfed in probably the largest blaze the town had experienced in decades.

The sight gave the teens more strength and energy to keep going and the remaining blocks felt like nothing. Soon, the noise of police and firefighters screaming to one another and the sirens of the cars and trucks filled the once-quiet morning air. A crowd of people was beginning to flock around the police line, and the murmurs sounded like an angry beehive. Pushing their way through the throng, Tucker and Sam leaned against the barrier that had been set up.

The tech-geek called out to the first officer he recognized. "Lieutenant Berg!" The woman turned and offered a strained smile to the mayor.

"Mayor Foley? What are you doing out here?" Her black eyes roamed over the teen and then over Sam behind him. "Is something wrong?" Tucker had to force himself not to laugh. How ironic. Truthfully, had anything been going right since Danny returned home? Instead, he just shook his head and tried to calm his furious heartbeat so he could at least pretend to be in control.

"No. We just happened to be in the neighborhood." He prayed she didn't question their gasping breaths and sweaty faces. After a moment of staring with a look that reminded him far too much of his mother, the lieutenant nodded.

"I suggest you get home then, sir. There's nothing you can do in this situation. Unless you've been training in firefighting along with ghost hunting." The remark was delivered playfully, but he could sense the tone of command in her voice. It was true that Sam and he could do nothing more than watch and their presence would only add an unnecessary burden on the police, but to be told to leave because something was dangerous stung his pride. He'd been saving the town from ghosts for longer than most knew after all. By the look on Sam's face, she shared his feelings.

"Can you at least..." The scanner and the officer's radio crackled to life and cut off the teen's question.

"Come in! We need reinforcements. Repeat, we need reinforcements. Team three has spotted a hostile ghost at the corner of Jenning and Grost. It's heading towards Davin. Repeat, the ghost is heading your way Team one." Berg ripped the radio from its pocket and called into it.

"Roger that, Team three. If you can, head back to base. Do you have any description of the ghost?" A rumbling sound made the group miss whatever the reporting officer had to say. The crowd mumbled nervously and subconsciously huddled closer together. Without warning, the second-story wall of the building across the street exploded outward and showered the street with stone, wood, and dust. Citizens screamed in surprise and fear and the assembled police force ducked to avoid any flying debris. A wave of burning heat washed over the area and without having to be told, Tucker knew that the ghost that flew out of the ruined building was the cause of the blaze.

Lieutenant Berg gapped at the flaming ghost, stunned at how quickly the specter had moved. Using her distraction to their advantage, the two teens vaulted over the barrier and sprinted across the damaged road. Tucker hoped Sam still had one of her own weapons as he pulled out his now-signature lipstick tube. The tiny cylinder buzzed with energy as he popped off the top and aimed. Beside him, whatever gun Sam had been hiding whirred to life.

Twin blasts of energy hit the fiery figure on each shoulder. It shrieked in pain and rage and whipped around to glare at its attackers. Some of the flames flickering around its body died down enough to reveal burnt flesh and bone before growing back to full strength. The ball of blue fire the ghost threw was so hot, the tech-geek could feel it from several yards out. It slammed into the ground, cracked the asphalt and sent splaying tails of fire after the teens even as they scrambled out of the way. Ducking behind a parked car, Tucker gripped the lipstick tube tighter and twisted it to its highest setting. He was sick of all this. Was it too much to ask for a few hours of peace and quiet? Too many people had been hurt in just the last few hours alone.

The rebound after the gun discharged made his arm numb but it hit the ghost with enough force to slam the specter backwards and diminish the raging blaze around it. Sam quickly followed his blast with one of her own, making their opponent double over in pain. It recovered faster than it should have though, an annoying trait the ghosts had been picking up recently, and the boy was forced to drop flat on the ground to avoided being barbecued. Another wave of heat washed over him and he glanced up just in time to see his shield catch on fire. Tucker flung himself out of the way as the gasoline caught and the steel fire exploded in bright blue flames and black smoke.

"Tucker!" He answered the anxious call with a groan, wondering how he had managed to bruise every bone in his body. Frantic hands grabbed his shoulders and dragged him across the rough pavement where he was propped up against hard stone. "Tucker?" His vision blurred back to life and Sam swam before him, violet eyes sparkling in the light.

"I'm good. Just took a hit to the head." He touched the most painful spot on his forehead and wasn't surprised to see his fingers come away red. "Ow." Years of helping Danny fight ghosts and then patching themselves up had taught him that head wounds were often superficial but that didn't stop the wave of nausea that washed over him at the sight of his own blood. Sam must have noticed and sidled out of range.

The ghost didn't care about his injury however. Flames licked the ground behind him and the specter rounded the car. Close up, the creature was even more frightening. The soul had obviously died in a fire. Blond hair was sizzling where it hadn't been completely burned off, skin was sagging around bones like fat falling off a roasting pig, clothes were torched and torn, and the crazed eyes that had become so common in the last few days stared down at them.

"Fire!" Gunshots sounded and ectoplasm-encased bullets al la the Fentons peppered the ghost. It shuddered and cried out in pain, flames flickering involuntarily as the pain made the creature lose control. Officers charged forward, their re-engineered weapons cutting into the creature. Sam pulled her friend closer as the specter convulsed in pain. Tucker felt her fumble to open his backpack and pull out the thermos lodged there. Bright, blue light blinded him as the goth uncapped the prison and a final wail marked the ghost's capture.

Tucker stared at the space the ghost had been second before, his eyes adjusting to the sudden lack of bright light. Sam appeared to be doing the same as she blinked rapidly. Lieutenant Berg rushed over to them and worried questions and commands were issued. Tucker assured her that they were fine and they didn't need help. That didn't stop the paramedics from poking and prodding them, asking if this or that hurt and if they felt nauseous or dizzy. Finally, Sam snapped at them to leave her alone and worry about people who actually wanted their help. She grabbed her friend's wrist and nearly dragged him away from the ambulance as a nurse finished bandaging the gash on his forehead.

"Did you notice?" The goth didn't stop walking as she glanced back at him.

"That it was insane? Yeah. Kinda hard to miss."

"No!" She stopped and turned to him, arms akimbo. "It was focusing on the old district. We did a full sweep of that area once the secret got out though. There weren't any spectral signatures. The ghost had to have formed somewhere else. But why didn't it destroy where it had been born? Why move to another area and than begin to destroy other things?" Sam looked toward the specified area, her eyes glittering and her mind running a mile a minute. "Think about it. Jazz goes there and gets hospitalized. We go to check things out and we get attacked by the Box Ghost."

"Not much of an attack." A violet glare cut him off and he motioned for her to continue.

"Now, a ghost that wasn't there before suddenly shows up and starts destroying things. Someone's trying to hide something in there."

"The Guys in White!" At Sam's inquisitive look, he elaborated. "Carson showed me where most of his men were going to working. Most of his teams are positioned in or around here. I didn't think anything of it because, like you said, we cleaned the place. Damn! How could I not have picked up on that?" Frustration over the last few days and his ignorance overwhelmed him and he punched the nearest wall, not caring that his fist now throbbed along with a developing headache. "I promised I would watch them!"

"Calm down, Tucker. You can kick yourself later. Right now we need to figure this out. C'mon," she rushed off back toward the old district, careful not to go near the police line. Tucker tried not to moan.

"Great, more running. At this rate, I'll be ready for the Olympics."

* * *

Being at the hospital during the night was completely different than being in the building during the day. There were no friendly nurses walking around or family coming to visit. The lights in the hallways were dimmed to and the supposedly calming green walls looked like dead skin. Jazz shivered as she jogged down the hallway. After her encounter with the violent visitor, the last thing she wanted to do was walk down the creepy hallway alone, but she needed to talk to Danny and warn him. The Guys in White behind everything.

She didn't know how she knew, but the memory was there. Like something from a dream, flashes of scenes and emotions swam before her mind's eye. Images of a cold, darkly lit lab mingled with distorted voices and tortured screams. The phantom feeling of needles pricking skin and painful headaches made her shiver uncontrollably. Wherever they were from, she wanted them to go away. But first, Danny had to know what the Guys in White were doing.

She rounded the corner and skidded to a halt. Five heavily protected and armed men circled the door to Dr. Kelly's office. The front of their bullet-proof uniforms declared them as SWAT operatives. The one closest to her looked up and glared at her. "You're going to have to leave, miss. No one is allowed in this area."

It took a moment for her sleep and adrenaline muddled brain to understand what was going on. "What do you mean? What's happened? What's wrong with Danny?" Fear slithered into the pit of her stomach and she felt sick.

"That's none of your concern. Please leave the area before we have to have you removed."

"It is my concern. This is my brother we're talking about. I have the right to know what's going on!" The group shared a look as she mentioned her relationship to Danny. Jazz felt a tingle of pride. Mom and Dad must have given them hell to warrant such a look.

"Your relationship is inconsequential. The vigilante known as Danny Phantom is now under arrest for his crimes at the City Hall." Both sides turned to see a trio of Guys in White stride down the corridor, their suits almost glowing in the dim light. Jazz felt her stomach catch in her throat as another reel of memories played out in her mind. She had never been afraid of the agents before, they had always been more cause for headache than fear, but all she wanted to do was turn tail and run the other way now.

The leader of the trio, Agent M is she remembered correctly from her few dealings with him, nearly strutted down the hallway. He hadn't been trying to capture Danny as long as Agents K and O had, but he still held a grudge against her brother for being able to outsmart the organization for so long that had proved to be closer to obsessive hatred than a healthy annoyance. If this was the guy in charge of Danny's arrest than the teen fighter was doomed. Thankfully, the SWAT men didn't seem too pleased with M either. One of them knocked on the doctor's door and whispered to someone inside. Another SWAT man exited the office and glared at her and the trio.

"I'm sorry but Danny Phantom is to stay here until my team is instructed otherwise. No one but the doctor is allowed to see him. You and your team will have to leave now." The suited agents didn't seem daunted by the armed man's unsaid threat though as they continued to march toward the door. "Sir! You do not have permission to be here."

Agent M smiled suddenly, and Jazz was reminded of a cat cornering its prey. "I think you'll find we can, Captain.

I have a warrant here that allows me to have the criminal brought back to our facilities. Apparently, you and your team are insufficient for this job and the honor has been given to the GiW. Now, if you'll excuse us." The SWAT leader took the offered letter and scanned it. With a mighty sigh, he motioned for his men to move aside and grudgingly stepped away from the door.

"Thank you, Captain. You'll find that we are better suited for this job. After all, the boy is a psychotic individual with several dangerous powers at his disposal. It's better to leave him to professionals. We'll make sure he gets the proper care for his kind. No hard feelings?" The SWAT captain didn't answer but continued to glare at M. "Very well. You are all dismissed now. We are perfectly capable of keeping the child contained. You'll find..." The agent's speech was cut short as glass shattered in the next room. The assembled group froze and stared at the closed door. As if released from a spell, everyone rushed toward the door. It flew open and slammed against the wall with a loud bang, both teams surging into the room.

Jazz managed to squeeze between the doorframe and a SWAT member to see the damage. Her breath hitched in her throat. The room looked as normal as it usually did. There were no huge holes in the wall, no smoke or fires, no ghostly light giving an eerie sheen to everything, no signs of a struggle. The only problem was the shattered window at the end of the room and the empty examination table. "No!" She wasn't sure if the shout was her's or someone else's, but it brought people running. A crowd quickly formed around the area and the Guys in White looked overwhelmed by the shock and noise.

Agent M turned to the SWAT captain, fury plain in his eyes. "Don't just stand there! Do something! You let him escape!"

"No, you let him escape. This," he waved the warrant for M to see, "transfers Danny Phantom's guard to you and your team. He was no longer my responsibility. He disappeared on your watch. And since your team is so capable and suited for the job, it should be no problem finding him. After al,l he was hardly able to move when I saw him. Good night." The team left without another word, the crowd mumbling excitedly as they passed them. M stared at them for a second before slamming his fist on the counter.

"Dammit! Report what happened! Tell them that Danny Phantom escaped. Send all available agents to search for him." The man continued to spit orders at his subordinates who were busy talking into their earpieces as he stomped around the room, fire in his eyes.

Someone gasped behind her and Jazz spun to find her mother in the doorway, hands over her mouth. "What happened? Where's Danny?" Dr. Kelly was right behind her, looking over her shoulder. Jack was yelling at the gathered people to move, which most did once they say the giant man's anger. "Jazz?" Everything finally sunk in with her and the teen ran over to her mother wrapping her in a tight hug. Her weariness started to catch up with her and tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She knew she was just overwhelmed from her mysterious visit, her strange memories, and finding out her brother was hurt and missing. She just needed to calm down and think rationally, but her body refused to listen to reason and the tears were soon accompanied by sobs.

"Get her inside. We need to figure out what's going on. Jazz, why are you out of bed? What happened?" The doctor ushered Maddie and Jazz inside and called to Jack as he ordered the Guys in White out. The redhead felt hands on her head and back trying to soothe her and find out what was wrong. The sobs finally subsided enough for her to choke out all that had happened since she woke up. Her parents and Dr. Kelly listened with apt attention. When she was finished, she wiped the tears from her eyes and settled back into the chair they had put her in. For once, Jazz was done trying to be in charge. It was time to let the adults decide what to do.


	11. Confrontations

Chapter 11: Confrontations

Sam slowed down and eventually stopped as the sound of shouting and pressurized water grew louder. Though she refused to show it, the day's events and seemingly non-stop action were starting to take their toll on her and she was glad for the excuse to rest. Tucker came up beside her wheezing horribly and red in the face. "You alright?"

The mayor gave her a sarcastic look and nodded. "Yeah...I'm great... My lungs are just shriveling down to nothing." His admission was followed by a severe coughing fit that left him gasping for air. "Remind me to never follow you again." The goth didn't respond though, her attention on the firefighters only two blocks over. "So now what?"

"We have to find out where the fire started. That's probably where whatever-it-is the Guys in White are looking for is." Her violet eyes swept over. "You think you can make it?" Tucker just took a deep breath and nodded.

The path of destruction was easy to follow. The ghost had left a pretty clear trail through the buildings. The fire department had done a fairly good job though in containing the inferno despite the hostile spirit and highly flammable structures. The hardest part was dodging the firefighters spread across the area. No matter who they were or what they had done, the department wouldn't let them roam around the still-smoking city.

They got by the crowd relatively easily though. The men and women were too busy dealing with the damage to pay much attention to anything else. Sam kept their pace at a fast walk as they dodged the authorities but slowed down the further into the old district they went. After a good ten minutes of successfully evading detection, Tucker snickered and she quirked an eyebrow. He shrugged at the look and waved back at the firefighters and surrounding area. "Doesn't this remind you of old times? Dodging the authorities and wandering into unknown situations where most likely something very dangerous is waiting for us? It all seems so much more complicated now." Sam hummed her agreement, not willing to think about how complicated things had gotten right now.

"Hold on," he called as the girl suddenly turned off the main road and down a side one. The tech geek glanced down the road they'd been following. The fire had obviously come from that direction. When he received no answer, a flash of cold fear rushed over the mayor. "Sam? Sam, don't you dare freak out on me too." She sent a dirty glare over her shoulder and motioned for him to follow. "But, Sam..."

"C'mon, Tucker!" She crossed her arms over her chest, impatience starting to creep into her voice. Sighing, Tucker jogged over to her.

"Alright! Fine! What's so important? The fire went that way." The goth squashed the desire to just grab her friend and drag him along and opted to just point instead.

"We were here. Danny, his parents, and me. We were here looking for Jazz when the Box Ghost attacked us." She started to jog down the streets, weaving in and out between the buildings, Tucker following a good distance behind. Turning to yell over her shoulder, she said, "we were attacked three blocks this way," she pointed in the direction they were headed, "and Jazz was found two blocks from there. If I'm right, the fire should start around here." As if by magic, they turned a corner and the buildings became burnt corpses. The teens stopped and gaped at the destruction. The fire had blackened the surrounding area and left the structures crumbling.

"Well I think it's safe to say this is where it started." Sam nodded silently and slowly stepped into the ravaged neighborhood.

"Danny and I were here only a day ago. What would have happened if us or Jazz were here when this happened? I can't believe they'd go this far. C'mon!" The small ecto-pistol she had brought found its way into her hands as she crept forward. Tucker followed her example and took out his own weapon . An unnatural silence settled over the pair as they scouted the buildings. Sam shivered as the hair on the back of her neck rose.

"Sam!" The girl turned just in time to see what had Tucker so worried. The orb of glowing ectoplasm glanced off her shoulder even as she tried to duck beneath it. The force of the blow knocked her backward and she felt the shock go up her spine. Tucker was at her side immediately, hands fluttering over her shoulder. "Can you move it?" Sam nodded but felt the pain flare up as she demonstrated.

"Good enough. We've got bigger problems though." Violet eyes met sea-green and motioned toward their attacker. Blaine lounged on the roof of one of the destroyed buildings, his silver eyes reflecting the rising sun and flashing orange. The girl felt Tucker tense and could almost hear his mind trying to remember all she had told him about the mysterious teen.

"Well, Princess, you've proven to be more annoying than I gave you credit for. Sadly, I can't allow that." The black-clad boy tumbled off the wall and gracefully landed on the sidewalk below. "You understand, don't you?" Without making a sound, he began to stride across the street toward them. "I can't let you or your friend go any farther. You might just get involved in something that has nothing to do with you and that just won't do." Ethereal fire leapt into his hands and a smirk graced the older teen's features. "So sorry about this, but you know what they say: curiosity killed the cat."

Come.

Come.

Come.

For the first time in years, he felt himself completely relax. The darkness around him soothed and eased him, releasing all the worries and fears he had harbored since his accident in the lab. There were no ghosts to worry about, no one to protect, no one to please, and no responsibilities to burden him.

Come.

The call floated in from the darkness and softly caressed him. He sank into the command and let it fill his being. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could feel his body obeying the voice, but he couldn't find the will to care. He was relaxed; he was safe.

That's it. Don't worry. Don't think.

Come.

The darkness lapped up against him and he sighed, his body floating farther away along with his mind.

The realization scared him and he thrashed in the void. Something was wrong. He shouldn't be here. He had something he needed to do. People needed him. Dark tendrils wrapped around him and tried to hold him still, but his wild convulsing quickened with fear.

Please. Stay calm. Don't worry. Don't think. Come.

No! His mind fought against the foreign influence, beating at the darkness around him. The void shimmered around him with pictures and memories.

No! Come back. Relax. Come.

A wave of peace rolled over him and he almost drowned in it. The darkness tried to swallow him back into its depths but he beat frantically against it. Memories flowed back into him, his name, his childhood, his friend and family, the accident. He gasped in pain as he relived it all and the darkness grabbed onto him again.

Calm down!

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" His voice echoed as the void tried to surround him again.

Come. Do not fight me. I am only trying to help.

"Then let me go!" He could feel the grip on his mind starting to loosen and he renewed his attack on the voice. "You can't keep me here! LET GO!" The equivalent of a mental ghostly wail shot out from him and the darkness ruptured.

Awareness hit him like one of Skulker's rockets and his senses went into overdrive. The sun had already made it over the horizon, the sky was just starting to loose the last of its purple hue, and the air still held night's chill. Smoke hung in the air and the buildings below him were burnt and broken. As his mind tried to figure out what had happened, pain shot through his body and he gasped. The invisibility and flight he had been unknowingly maintaining wavered and failed as he curled in on himself.

Danny plummeted and felt the air knocked out of his lungs as he landed on one of the ruined buildings. Coughing, he rolled onto his back as he tried to drag air back into his body. "Ow," he moaned when he could finally breath again. Unfortunately, the pain didn't die down, and if the amount of bandages he was wrapped in were any indication, it wasn't going to get any better any time soon. "Great. Just what I needed."

Come.

Gasping in surprise, the teen sat up and glanced around him. When no threat presented itself, he let his tense muscles relax a bit. "And now, I'm hearing voices. Tucker will love that." Careful to not anger any of his injuries, a harder task than he anticipated, he stood up and took in his surroundings. It had been an old neighborhood before it had been torched, but that was all he could tell about it now.

The roof groaned horrendously as he stepped forward, and he eyed the burnt floor warily. The fire escape was on the other ledge but the floor looked even less stable then where he was. He could just go ghost and fly down, but icy fear stopped the transformation. The last time he had changed he had almost killed Carson and attacked Tucker. What if that happened again?

Come.

He shivered in the cold air, his t-shirt giving him little protection from the chilly air, and looked over his shoulder. Something pulled him there and he struggled to fight off the feeling. He really didn't want to meet whatever it was, especially as hurt as he was.

Transform. Come.

The command wiggled under his skin and he felt his power anxiously waiting, begging to be used. "Stop! Leave me alone! Get out of my head!" His voice echoed in the empty neighborhood and sent shivers down his back. Energy pulsed under his skin, making his fingertips tingle. "Stop it!"

His shout was drowned out as weapons fired in the distance. The distinctive sound of an ecto-weapon being discharged made his stomach move into his throat. The disembodied voice picked up on his worry.

Your friends are in trouble. You need to help them. Transform. I can keep your powers in check. Just go!

The sudden change in orders caught Danny by surprise and he found himself running across the crumbling roof,

not caring that it shook unsteadily beneath him. Instead of climbing down the fire escape though, he flung himself off the edge. Twin circle of light engulfed him as he felt the tightly controlled power fill him. Fear gripped him as the hunger for power clawed at him.

Don't worry. I'll make sure you do not loose control.

The calming presence joined with him again but didn't fight to take control this time. Like a soothing balm, it took the bite out of the desire and left him level-headed. Free of that worry, the ghost-hunter turned his attention back toward his friends and set off at breakneck speed.

Sam wiped at the trickle of blood running from her nose but otherwise ignored it. Blaine wasn't giving them a chance to do anything other than dodge and get some lousy shots off. Tucker had just scored their first hit and it hadn't done anything but make their opponent mad. Her shoulder was starting to throb with pain and a quick glance showed that it was badly burned.

Rolling over her shoulder and cursing herself for not having the foresight to wear shorts instead of her usual skirt,

the goth made sure Tucker had dodged the blow also before opening fire. The bombardment just glanced off the older teen's shield though. Breaking down the enemy's defenses was usually Danny or Valerie's job. They had the power to spare. Without them, they were wasting time and ammo shooting at a wall that didn't seem to be breaking anytime soon.

Her attack gained Blaine's attention and he opened fire on her. This time there were no parked cars to hide behind though and she was forced to sprint toward the nearest building for cover. Leaning her back against the wall, the teen took several deep breaths, trying to clear her mind enough to think of a plan. Right now, a frontal assault would only get them fried. The older teen's shield was keeping safe him from any sneak attacks though. She guessed they should be lucky that their opponent wasn't as dangerous as some of the other creeps they had had to deal with in the past. That optimism didn't hide the fact that they were still at a disadvantage.

Footsteps drew near as more ectoplasmic blasts peppered the pavement. Tucker flew in through the broken wall and ducked as a ball of energy whizzed over his head. Grabbing his arm, Sam pulled him out of the line of fire. As the tech geek regained his breath, she fired another round at Blaine. The shots rebounded off the teen's shield and the girl fell back into cover. Outside, their opponent continued his calm stride toward their hiding place. "Stop trying to delay the inevitable. You can't run forever."

"Any suggestions," Tucker asked as he popped a new stick of compressed ectoplasm from his pant pocket into his weapon's tube. "Cause, really, anything would be good right now."

"We beat him and try not to get killed in the process."

"Well duh, but how do you suggest we do that? We're not exactly winning if you haven't noticed."

"You're the brilliant strategist. Figure something out. Preferably sometime in the next minute or so." Glancing at Blaine as he came closer to their hideout, Sam cursed softly under her breath. "Cover me."

"Wait! What?" Tucker made a grab for her as she stepped out from the wall and ran at the approaching teen. The weapon in her hands grew hot as she fired off several rounds in quick succession. The shots and Tucker's own missiles bombarded the green armor but combined power of the fire only cracked its surface. Not giving Blaine enough time to recover, Sam ran at the him, throwing herself at the weakening wall. The pressure made the cracks widen and splinter until the goth felt the resistance beneath her give way and shatter. Blaine shouted in pain and anger but Sam couldn't help the smirk that pulled at her lips.

"Not so tough now are you?" She held her gun out, muzzle only inches away from the older teen's chest. He looked at her in fury, fire building behind his silver eyes.

"Don't get so cocky, Princess." With reflexes she had always envied Danny for, Blaine swiped the gun from her hand and turned it toward back at her. "It leads to mistakes."

"Sam!" Tucker rushed out from the building but the older teen turned off the safety on the gun and the mayor stopped, glaring darkly.

"Now, we both know that this won't kill you, but it sure as hell will get close. Drop your weapon and I'll make sure you two go quickly, maybe even painlessly." When Tucker didn't move, Blaine jammed the muzzle under her jaw, the cool metal making goosebumps form on her skin. "Now!" The sound of the lipstick tube hitting the ground seemed to echo in the dead city. The mysterious teen nodded in satisfaction and shoved Sam backward. Tucker caught her as she stumbled and helped her regain her footing, never taking his eyes off the gun pointed in their direction. Unwilling to seem afraid, Sam met Blaine's eyes, violet burning with anger and defiance.

"It's been fun, Tucker. Thanks."

"Yeah." The boy reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. Her heart suddenly longed to see Danny, the Fentons, even her parents again but she ignored it and returned the gesture. The gun whirred to life and she could see the barrel flicker with light.

"Sayonara." She watched the blast form, leave the barrel, and fly toward them. Her world went green and then white as pain erupted in her stomach. The air flew out of her and she struggled to breathe. She faintly heard Tucker shout but her world went black when she hit the rough pavement.

The pain woke her again though and she moaned as her body throbbed with her heartbeat. A tiny spark of hope bubbled up as she focused on the beating. Something tugged at her arm and a warped voice called her from somewhere in the distance. Her breath hitched as the pain became more prominent but she could at least pinpoint where it was radiating from: her shoulder, stomach, head, and tailbone.

"M...am! S...am...SAM!" She opened her eyes and found Tucker's blurry, worried face hovering over her as lights flickered and the ground shook.

"'m not dead." A relieved grin broke over the mayor's face and tears rimmed his eyes.

"No. Sorry. You lived to terrorize Amity another day." The tears were flowing now and he whipped off his glasses to wipe them away. "Don't you ever do that again, Sam!"

"But...Blaine shot," she was interrupted as the ground shook more violently and her friend glanced over her shoulder.

"I'll explain once we get outta here. C'mon." Gently, he helped her to her feet, her legs refusing to decide whether to support her or not. "Man, you must have really hit your head," he observed as he had to catch her. Her disorientation didn't stop him from dragging her down the road as quickly as possible. The haze was starting to disappear though and she refused to go without reason.

"Tucker, what is...," she trailed off as she glanced behind her. Green flashes bombarded the street and silver streaks zipped back and forth. "What is..."

"Danny." Sam spun to look at her friend and the world spun with her. Thankfully, Tucker was already holding her and caught her before she fell again. "Easy. Don't push it." He steadied her and led her under the most stable looking building. "I don't know how, but he's here."

"But he's injured! He can't be here!"

"I know! But he's here and fighting Blaine. He knocked us out of the way before the shot hit us. You hit your head and passed out. Sam?" The goth groaned and blinked, her vision blurring and the world slipping around her. "Shit!" Hands grabbed her and patted her face. "Sam, don't go to sleep. Okay? Stay with me." His words seemed far away but she reached out and blindly grabbed his shoulder. A few deep breaths brought the world back into focus.

"I'm good. I'm okay. Just give me a minute." Tucker nodded but glanced nervously over his shoulder at the fighting. Mentally grasping for their conversation, Sam followed his gaze. "Your not worried about him winning are you?"

"He tried to kill Carson, Sam. One minute he was fine and the next he just went completely bonkers! What if that happens again?" Ice gripped her heart as she realized that Tucker's logic wasn't exactly impossible. He seemed to have noticed she agreed and sighed. "We're not in any shape to fight him right now and if he loses control again, we'll have to."

The ground shook again and the sound of one of the buildings crashing vibrated in the morning air. The two teens looked over and waited for the fighting to pick up again. The silence seemed to stretch though. Sighing, Tucker stood. "I'll go and see..."

"SAM! TUCKER! GUYS!" The voice made Sam's heart jump and she couldn't tell if it was because of happiness or fear. As her boyfriend jogged in front of their hiding spot she decided it was happiness. The halfa noticed Tucker and a smile split his lips. "Tucker! Oh my god. I thought I had lost you guys." Green eyes were filled with worry and Tucker's fears suddenly seemed irrational. Danny jogged up to his best friend and pulled him into a friendly hug. "Where's Sam?" The young mayor motioned toward Sam and her boyfriend was instantly at her side, fussing over her and babbling on about how she had to be more careful.

"It's not all my fault, Fenton. I now have a bump the size of Skulker's ego on the back of my head because of you. Plus, you're not looking so hot yourself." The idiot blinked owlishly and looked down at himself before blushing and grinning sheepishly.

"Alright. Fine. You win."

"I always do." He chuckled and offered her a hand. "What are you doing here anyway? You're supposed to be in the hospital." She gratefully took it and swayed as she stood up. Danny steadied her as Tucker brushed her hair away from the base of her neck.

"Yikes. You weren't exaggerating about that bump, Sam. Look at the size of that thing." Danny leaned over to see and the goofy smile disappeared.

"My god. I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't realize I hit you that hard. You shouldn't be up. Here let me carry you." He bent down to pick her up but he couldn't hide the grimace of pain as he stretched healing wounds.

"Yeah right. You're worse off than I am. You look like you're about to drop." A wry smile crossed his face and he sighed. Before he could further argue his point though, Tucker pushed between them.

"I'll carry her, okay? Dude, she's right," the mayor reasoned as his best friend frowned. "You're a mess. I'm surprised you even made it out here let alone fought that guy. Let's find a building that doesn't look like its about to collapse so we can rest. I'm exhausted." Neither of them could find the will to argue against rest so Tucker knelt in front of her while Danny helped her on. The boys made sure she was securely on Tucker's back before they set off.

They moved slowly, their exhaustion and injuries making their trek harder than usual. The throbbing in her head and slight nausea grew the farther they went until she was more than convinced she had a concussion. Tucker had warned her more than once to not throw up on him and Danny was now hovering around her like a mother hen, a comparison she was more than willing to tell him about. The hovering did allow her to observe him more closely though and she didn't like what she saw.

He was paler than normal which was amazing in its own rite. There were hardly any patches of skin that weren't cut, burned, or bruised that she could see and his uniform was so torn it showed more than he usually would feel comfortable showing. Black circles underlined his eyes and made the green color even more haunting. Each step seemed to be more effort than he could bear. His eyes would also gloss over when he thought she wasn't looking as if he was listening to something only he could hear. He looked more ghostly than he ever hard before and it scared her.

Exhaustion did catch up to her though as the adrenaline wore off. Despite herself, she found her eyes fluttering closed and her head dropping further onto Tucker's shoulder. "Danny?" Tucker's anxious call brought her from her doze and she bolted up. Her boyfriend had broken away from them and was wandering down an alley. She felt her friend tense under her and icy fear clenched her heart.

"Danny!" The ghost-boy turned back at her call and frowned. Relief washed over the pair at the life still shining in their friend's eyes.

"C'mon. This way." Without another word, he set off again. Tucker sighed, muttered something under his breath, and sighed but followed Danny anyway. The alleyway was narrow and the buildings overhead blocked out most of the light. Still, Danny seemed to know exactly where he was going as he pushed aside some old crates and revealed a trap door. Without waiting for them, he opened it and jumped in. Tucker hesitated at the top.

"I've seen this before. I think this is the part where he kills us." Sam scoffed and slapped him on the shoulder, but couldn't stop the hair on her arms from standing on end. She wriggled out of his arms and moved to the hole.

"C'mon!" She prayed that Danny knew what he was doing and jumped down. The darkness hid how close the ground really was and the fall jarred her joints and made her headache spike. Danny was at her side in a moment, glowing ord held aloft in his palm. Tucker followed seconds later and whistled as he looked at the surroundings. She couldn't help but agree with his assessment.

A large tunnel ran into the endless darkness before them. It widened into a small cavern where they were, stocked with more crates and barrels. "What is this place?" The silver-hair boy didn't answer though but just walked down the tunnel. She and Tucker followed quickly after, not wanting to be left in the dark. The tunnel wound for what she guessed was four blocks back the way they came. Excitement and fresh adrenaline washed away her tiredness and the walk seemed to take half the time. They came around a bend and Danny stopped dead.

The tunnel widened again but this time the cavern took up about the same space as the Fenton's lab. Light flooded the area from light bulbs strung along the wall. A tv and radio were propped up against the near wall, cables running down from the ceilings. Somewhere a generator hummed. A neat quartet of beds lined one of the walls with a heavy chest at the end of each. A curtain blocked off one corner of the room and from the water pooling around it, it housed the plumbing for the makeshift house.

"What is this place?"

"My home." Sam jumped as the voice rattled her already fraying nerves. In unison, the boys pushed her behind them, putting themselves between her and the possible threat. Usually she would have complained about the behavior, but her head was throbbing too much from their trek for her to care.

"Who are you," Danny's voice echoed off the bare walls as a boy stepped out from the opposite tunnel and started toward them. The halfa shifted uncertainly. Curiosity got the better of her judgement and she sidled up to Danny's side, Tucker was too busy looking at their guest to stop her. Danny quickly glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but didn't show any other signs he had seen her. She could understand his uncertainty. The child was so small and scrawny, it almost seemed ridiculous to be so on guard. Years of fighting ghosts had taught them better though.

The boy raised his hands, obviously aware of his situation at the moment. "Chris. I'm Chris." His voice was off. There was a deeper undertone to it that sounded oddly familiar and gave him a weird double-voice.

"What are you doing down here?" Her boys glanced at her as she spoke up, but she ignored them. The boy's brown eyes were suddenly on her and she shivered. She had seen that look too often lately. Danny, Tucker, Valerie, and she was sure even she had those same worn out, old eyes.

"Hiding."

"Why? From what?" The suspicious tone in the white-haired teen's voice seemed to slice through the heavy tension in the air. The mysterious child bit his lip in hesitation before dipping his hand into the pouch of the dirty sweatshirt he wore. Danny tensed and power flickered around his hands. His body had had enough though and familiar rings of light slid over him. He gasped in pain and his legs gave out. Luckily, Tucker was in better shape than her and was able to jump forward and catch their friend before he hit the ground.

Chris took a step froward too in worry, but was stopped by the goth's signature glare. "Please. I'll explain everything once he's awake. He needs his rest. He's hurt. You all are." Pleading chocolate eyes met hers and some of her anxiety disappeared. He was just as scared and wary as they were. Either he was a very good actor or they din't have anything to about from him. "Please."

They were all exhausted. Danny couldn't stand let alone fight and she wasn't in much better shape as the pounding in her head and pain in her shoulder reminded her. Tucker, the least injured out of all of them, looked ready to join Danny on the floor any minute now. Even if wanted to say no, she really couldn't. "Fine." Sam helped Tucker drag the halfa over to one of the beds and lay him down. The goth plopped down on the bed next to her boyfriend, exhaustion finally getting its way.

"I'll wake you up in two hours, Sam. You shouldn't stay asleep for too long if you have a concussion," Tucker said as he played with his phone. She merely nodded and let darkness cut her off from the world.

The Specter Speeder 3.6 hummed beneath her as Maddie ran one last check of its systems. After the last one was destroyed in the Disasteroid crisis, they had had to rebuild the ship and had been slowly upgrading its systems. Now she was sure that it could take out any obstacle they might come across in the pocket dimension. Fear and anxiety still made her stomach feel like it she had swallowed a jar of butterflies though. This would be the first time they would be going into the Ghost Zone without Danny as a guide and guard.

"Ready to go?" Her husband's quiet voice spooked her more than any of his boisterous shouts ever had. When Jack got this serious, something was horribly wrong. Her heart clenched at the thought of what had made the usually carefree man so solemn. Danny had been poisoned. Not nearly as bad as Valerie or the ghosts had, but enough to slowly wear him down without anyone realizing it until it was too late. And now he was missing along with Sam, Tucker, and Valerie.

Unable to answer him, Maddie nodded and moved over as Jack jumped into the craft. The engines roared to life and the machine slowly levitated off the ground. Once again, she was struck by just how ominous the swirling vortex really looked as her natural instinct to avoid the dead made her skin itch. Her baby was in trouble though. Without a second thought, she tilted the yoke froward and the portal swallowed them up.

The green glow of the dimension washed over her as they appeared in the dead's world. Floating chucks of rock passed them by and the doors to the inhabitant's own pockets of the world bobbed in the distance. Jack pressed a sequence of buttons on the console and a hologram of the area flickered to life, their location marked by a small red dot. Tucker had helped them install the map only a few weeks ago, using something he called the Infi-map and his memory and experience as a reference. She and Jack had wanted to get a closer look at the mysterious map, but Danny had snuck it back to the Ghost Zone before they could get their hands on it.

A few more strokes on the built-in keyboard and another yellow dot appeared on the far side of the hologram. "According to Tucker's data, that's where we need to go. The Speeder should be able to map a route." Maddie nodded and turned on the autopilot. For extra protection, she switched on the cloaking field. She wasn't up to fight right now.

The other world passed them by and she felt chills run up her spine. Usually by now they had run into at least one ghost by now. The area seemed to be, well it looked dead. Nothing moved or made a sound. By the look on Jack's face, he had noticed the unusual circumstances. "What do we really know about this ghost?" The question caught her off guard.

"Nothing much. The kids have been really good at keeping his information out of the system. I hear them talk him a lot though. He's a friend, someone Danny seems to look up to. We'll just have to trust their judgement on this one. It hasn't been wrong yet when it comes to these kinds of things." His wife's logic seemed to soothe the ghost hunter's nerves and he relaxed a little more.

The Speeder's chirped and a computerized voice informed them that they were five minutes from their destination. Maddie almost smiled. The last few hours of waiting for answers had been slowly eating away at her. It felt good to be able to move and do something useful. Her excitement vanished though as their destination came into view.

It had been a grand clock tower once, with cog-like arches and a huge pendulum. Something had attacked it though and now most of the building was tumbling into rubble. The Fentons shared a look and Jack gently sent the Specter Speeder at the far end of the tower. The doors opened with a soft hiss and they jumped out onto the floating island. Despite never being here before, Maddie could tell the destruction had been recent. Rock dust still clung to the air and the breaks in the stone were fresh. She held her gun ready in case whatever had done this had decided to stick around.

Without a word, the two hunters carefully entered the tower, warily watching for any structural weaknesses or hidden enemies. Nothing came to meet them though and they slowly climbed the stairs. The other levels produced the same results until they reached the top floor. A wide window showed the expanse of the Ghost Zone like a picture. The ceiling arched high and gears for the giant clock protruded form the walls and floor. Desks and bookshelves lined the walls and were filled with books and papers. The ages of some made the scholar in Maddie crave to study their contents. It was like looking back in time.

"Maddie!" The woman rushed over to her husband and found him standing in front of a large glass mirror, his gun aimed at a humanoid wolf as tall as Jack. As she came closer it turned its big head toward her and looked her over with its beady eyes. He snuffed the air and his tailed wagged slightly.

"Pako da Danny?" The harsh language was ignored at the mention of her son's name.

"Danny? Do you know where he is?" The creature grunted and shook his head.

"Esperanto," he insisted and the hunter sighed.

"What's he saying," Jack asked, his weapon still pointed at the wolf. Maddie just shook her head and shrugged.

"I don't know. He's speaking Esperanto. I haven't worked with that since college."

"Kiekien Danny? Clockwork bezono al lilin. Tie multa gxeno." The ghost sniffed the air again and didn't seem happy with what he found. The name caught the Fenton's attention though.

"Clockwork? Are you Clockwork," she tried to mime with her hands. He seemed to understand though and shook his head, mumbling something else she couldn't understand. "Can you take us to him?" It took a bit but, the wolf nodded his understanding. Jack lowered his weapon and stepped over to Maddie. Large green claws extended from the animal's fingers and he swiped them across the open air. A rift split the space and Maddie could see movement on the other side. The ghost motioned for them to go through, saying something about Clockwork.

A part of her mind told her that trusting this ting so easily was going to get her killed but her maternal instinct squashed the doubt. Deep within her, she felt that this was what she had to do. Jack watched her face, waiting for an answer. His trust in her judgment was touching. Decision made, the huntress nodded her thanks to the wolf and stepped through the portal.

It was like stepping through a doorway, one second she was in the empty tower, the next she was stepping out into a dark room with a group of ghosts gathered around a cylinder of light. Jack followed seconds behind her and gaped at the void around them. One of the specters looked up as they entered and smiled at them, arms opening wide to greet them. "Ah! Jack and Maddie Fenton. You must have found Wulf then. I must say I have waited a long time for this meeting. I am sorry that it could not be in better times."

"Clockwork! What are these humans doing here? They are not allowed in these sacred chambers!" The other ghosts turned away from the glowing table that made the light and the huntress could see they were like giant eyes with tentacles, well-dressed eyeballs but eyeballs nonetheless. The ghost that greeted them was the odd one out. He was mainly humanoid except for a ghostly tail and a beard that touched the floor despite his height. A ragged scar crossed one eye but it didn't take the grand-fatherly affection out of his expression.

"Clockwork?" She could understand why he son had grown attached to the ghost. He gave off a sense of calm and safety and wisdom sparkled behind those intelligent eyes. The ghost's smile grew and he dipped in an elegant bow.

"At your service. How may I assist you two?" As he spoke, his form shifted to that of a child and the two hunters jumped at the sudden change. The ghost seemed not to notice the change though save from their reactions.

"Do you know where Danny is? Our daughter said that you would be the one to ask." The sparkling eyes darkened briefly and the humor in the ghost's stance vanished.

"Come." he motioned for them to follow him and with a tap of his scepter, a door slid open, letting light flood into the dark room. They stepped through, Jack with some difficulty due to his size and arrived in what could only be described as a hallway that looked like it was taken from a monastery, all white, bare walls. "I am sorry about my associates. Some rather important business has come up that can not be overlooked and they are worked up over it."

Maddie didn't really care though and the ghost seemed to notice. "Where's Danny?"

"He is safe for the moment. Sam and Tucker are looking after him. As am I when I can. I'm afraid that he will not stay that way for long. Time has taken its darkest path and now we must all deal with the consequences. The Fallen have come back and there are those in your world that are planning to use them for their own gain."

"What? What are the Fallen? Who are you talking about?"

"Ghosts, what you previously believed all ghosts to be like before you built your portal. They are the ghosts that have lost their humanity and have become nothing more than masses of power. However, emotions are what keep our existence possible. It is the emotions and memories of life that keep the soul locked to the world. Once that is taken away, they must feed on human life to survive and survival is all that matters to ghosts, that's the reason why we exist. Our desire to survive is what created this world.

"It gets worse though. One of your human organizations, the Guys in White I believe they are called, has discovered a way to control them and give their power to humans. They based their experiments off of your son's unusual state and have created what is ultimately a new type of halfa. Unlike your son though, these new halfas are not simultaneously dead and alive. They are merely humans who are controlling a Fallen and have the Fallen possess their human bodies. They still have control of their bodies through their control of the Fallen. They can only possess the powers of the ghost they control though. In order to get stronger they need stronger Fallen. That is why the activity in Amity has escalated. The organization is turning them into Fallen so they can be controlled."

"But what has this got to do with Danny," Jack asked, his face scrunched up as he tried to understand what the ghost was saying.

"Everything and nothing. Though I know Daniel has never said anything, he has seen one of his futures. In that future, in order to escape the pain he was in, he had his humanity ripped out of him to leave only his ghost-half behind." Maddie gasped at that, hands flying to her mouth. Jack looked pale and as sick as she felt. What would drive Daniel to do something like that? "In doing that, he created a Fallen, one more powerful than any I have seen before. The humans somehow found out about this and that I had him secured in my home. They attacked and were able to capture him."

"Wait! You said this other version of Danny was in the future. How could he be here now?"

A smirk pulled at Clockwork's lips and he nodded. "I did say that. You'll have to excuse me, I forgot you are not aware of my powers. I can now see where Daniel gets his intelligence." Maddie colored at the compliment. He dropped into another bow. "My name is Clockwork, Master of Time itself, and guardian of the halfa known as Danny Phantom, hero of the human world and the Ghost Zone alike." Time seemed to stop as the Fentons thought over this new information.

"But if you're the Master of Time, then how come you didn't know the Guys in White were going to attack?"

"Time is not something set in stone. Even the smallest choices and actions can set it one a new course. I do not see the path it will take. I see every direction it may and may not go. The time stream has been chaotic as of late. Earth shattering events and decisions are happening faster than my powers can order them. I can see and control time but my powers are not omnipotent and my attention has been elsewhere as of late. They have their limits though it has been centuries since I have reached them. Your son certainly has a talent for making the impossible happen. It is often infuriating and makes my job a great deal harder." The Master didn't look annoyed or angry though. A loving smile pulled at his aged lips and his eyes sparkled with affection. Maddie was suddenly hit by how special Danny really was to have caught the attention of an old and powerful spirit.

"But why was Danny poisoned? If the feds already have his Fallen then why do they need him."

"Daniel's poisoning was an accident. The Guys in White had never planned to attack him. Aragon's attack on the school was the result of them losing control and some of the prince's intoxicated blood was mixed with Daniel's during the fight. They discovered what had happened and modified their drug to work on humans. Young Valerie Grey's unfortunate state was their first field experiment. Now they have set their eyes on your son, but they were unable to capture him and administer the drug in the hospital. They believe that his older self will be able to contain him long enough for them to gain control.

"However, they have also lost an important piece of their plan. The child whose gene carried the power to control the Fallen and was used to give others the power has run away. He is the only one who might be strong enough to control either Daniel. Without him, they can not move on in their quest."

"So we have to find to this kid and keep him away from the Guys in White?" The thought of a child being involved in the government organization sent cold fury racing in her veins. A knowing smirk crossed the ghost's face as his body shifted again.

"That will not be necessary. Daniel is, once again, far ahead of us."

* * *

Well I hope you liked it. I'm sorry it took so long. I have excuse that makes up for it. This chapter is twice the length of any of the previous chapters though to make up for it. Also let me know if I completely botched Clockwork. I love him but I just couldn't seem to get im to do what I wanted. Congrats to Bubbly-chan for guessing right about 7 chapters ago.

DC


End file.
